Sizing and shaping of mesoscale architectures with nanoscale features is a key opportunity to produce the next generation of higher-performing products and at the same time unveil completely new phenomena. This review article discusses recent advances in the design of novel photonic and plasmonic structures using a biology-inspired design. The proteinaceous capsids from viruses have long been discovered as platform technologies enabling unique applications in nanotechnology, materials, bioengineering, and medicine. In the context of materials applications, the highly organized structures formed by viral capsid proteins provide a 3D scaffold for the precise placement of plasmon and gain materials. Based on their highly symmetrical structures, virus-based nanoparticles have a high propensity to self-assemble into higher-order crystalline structures, yielding hierarchical hybrid materials. Recent advances in the field have led to the development of virus-based light harvesting systems, plasmonic structures for application in high-performance metamaterials, binary nanoparticle lattices, and liquid crystalline arrays for sensing or display technologies. There is still much that could be explored in this area, and we foresee that this is only the beginning of great technological advances in virus-based materials for plasmonics and photonics applications.

The general aim of this paper is to present a possible multidisciplinary approach to the problem of connectivity among marine protected areas (MPAs) describing some of the mechanisms and vectors that control the dispersal of propagules among spatially distributed marine communities of MPAs in the Southern Adriatic Sea. A joint approach is described that focuses on (a) measurements of surface water current and model data integrated with a dedicated software (LAVA, LAgrangian Variational Analysis), (b) measurements of rafting objects and their evaluation as an alternative way to species dispersal, and (c) a tool to automatically monitor propagules and plankton species in the water column. Studies on the dynamics of water currents demonstrated that the Gargano area has the potential to supply dispersal propagules to the Southern Adriatic both along the Italian coastline and offshore across the basin, thus providing important services to the dispersal processes and the connectivity routes among MPAs. The natural dispersion is however enhanced by floating objects, on which entire marine communities are living and travelling. The number of these objects has greatly increased with the introduction of human litter: in the Adriatic, man-made litter composes nowadays the majority (79 %) of all floating objects, with this corresponding to an almost fourfold increase in the abundance of floating objects since pre-industrial times. Such enhanced dispersion may benefit transmission of propagules from MPAs along biodiversity corridors, but may also enhance the arrival of invasive species. The direct observation of organisms can provide information on the species distribution and mobility. New technology (GUARD-1 system) has been developed to automatically identify spatial or temporal distributions of selected species in the water column by image analysis. The system has so far successfully detected blooms of ctenophores in the water column and is now being tested for identification of other zooplankton groups, such as copepods, as well as marine litter. This low-cost, long-lasting imaging system can be hosted on mobile devices such as drifters, which makes it very suitable for biological dispersal studies.

The goals and targets included in the 2030 Agenda compiled by the United Nations want to stimulate action in areas of critical importance for humanity and the Earth. These goals and targets regard everyone on Earth from both the health and economic and social perspectives. Reaching these goals means to deal with Complex Systems. Therefore, Complexity Science is undoubtedly valuable. However, it needs to extend its scope and focus on some specific objectives. This article proposes a development of Complexity Science that will bring benefits for achieving the United Nations' aims. It presents a list of the features shared by all the Complex Systems involved in the 2030 Agenda. It shows the reasons why there are certain limitations in the prediction of Complex Systems' behaviors. It highlights that such limitations raise ethical issues whenever new technologies interfere with the dynamics of Complex Systems, such as human beings and the environment. Finally, new methodological approaches and promising research lines to face Complexity Challenges included in the 2030 Agenda are put forward.

We review the state of knowledge on the bio-fluid dynamic mechanisms involved in the transmission of the infection from SARS-CoV-2. The relevance of the subject stems from the key role of airborne virus transmission by viral particles released by an infected person via coughing, sneezing, speaking or simply breathing. Speech droplets generated by asymptomatic disease carriers are also considered for their viral load and potential for infection. Proper understanding of the mechanics of the complex processes whereby the two-phase flow emitted by an infected individual disperses into the environment would allow us to infer from first principles the practical rules to be imposed on social distancing and on the use of facial and eye protection, which to date have been adopted on a rather empirical basis. These measures need compelling scientific validation. A deeper understanding of the relevant biological fluid dynamics would also allow us to evaluate the contrasting effects of natural or forced ventilation of environments on the transmission of contagion: the risk decreases as the viral load is diluted by mixing effects but contagion is potentially allowed to reach larger distances from the infected source. To that end, our survey supports the view that a formal assessment of a number of open problems is needed. They are outlined in the discussion.

The contamination of water bodies by toxic industrial effluents is a serious threat to environment and the exposed organisms. The treatment of carcinogenic azo dyes in wastewater of grossly polluting textile industry is a major challenge considering the persistent nature of chemical dyes against biological treatment. The present study explores efficacy of advanced oxidation processes-photocatalysis and photo-Fenton, towards degradation of Remazol Red dye in the textile industry effluent. It was observed that both processes can completely remove the colour and approximately 85% mineralization of the dye within reaction time of 60 min and 8 min, respectively. The economic analysis placed photo-Fenton as a cost-effective method with treatment cost of approx. 0.0090 US $/litre of wastewater containing Remazol Red dye. Although, Photocatalysis was relatively slow, it is substantially effective in removal/degradation of colour from textile effluent against the biological treatment. The study concludes that photo-Fenton and Photocatalysis are cost-effective and substantial treatment options for removal of toxicity arising from coloured textile effluents.

The Italian Law of 22 November 2016 has legalized the cultivation of hemp, which drives the development of sustainable agriculture by generating new products with high added value in the new context of circular economy. Hemp cultivation is known for its low environmental impact, as hemp grows fast, suppresses weeds and does not need pesticides. It has no specialized parasites, favors pollination and improves the physical and chemical soil fertility. Recently, many countries have increased their interest in hemp ( L.), considering it as a climate-friendly crop that can mitigate climate change and desertification. For these reasons, hemp can be a new protagonist of Italian agriculture already oriented towards the objectives of EU 2030 which predicts 40% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions compared to 1990. The hemp cultivation can activate a new supply chain by allowing using different parts of the plant, benefiting farmers, environment, and human health. Indeed, although a very old plant, hemp will be one of the main protagonists of the green economy in the near future. Its seeds can be used by agri-food industry to produce flour, pasta, pastry and oil, while the stem through (woody part of stem) in green building sector. Its fiber (external part of stem) will find new applications in textile industry. As for its inflorescences and roots, thanks to the extraction of bioactive molecules, they will play an important role in the pharmaceutical and parapharmaceutical industry. Finally, only the medical sector with Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) extraction from inflorescence is not yet regulated by the aforementioned Italian Law.

Bimetallic nanoparticles offer unique chemical, physical and optical properties that are not available for monometallic nanoparticles. Bimetallic nanoparticles play a major role in various therapeutic, industrial and energy fields. Recently, nanoparticles of Copper/Zinc bimetallic nanoparticles have attracted attention in various fields, especially medicine. In this study, bimetallic CuO/ZnO nanostructures were biosynthesized using plant extracts. The plant-mediated synthesis nanoparticles were characterized by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM) and Energy-Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDAX). The cytotoxicity of plant-mediated synthesis bimetallic nanoparticles and the synergistic effects of these nanoparticles in combination with the anticancer drug doxorubicin on MCF-7 cancer cells were evaluated by MTT assay.

With the changing climate and environment, the nature of fog has also changed and because of its impact on humans and other systems, study of fog becomes essential. Hence, the study of its controlling factors such as the characteristics of condensation nuclei, microphysics, air-surface interaction, moisture, heat fluxes and synoptic conditions also become crucial, along with research in the field of prediction and detection. The current review expands for the period between 1976 to 2021, however, especially focused on the research articles published in the last two decades. It considers 250 research papers/research letters, 24 review papers, four book chapters/manuals, five news articles, 15 reports, six conference papers and five other online readings. This review is a compilation of the pros and cons of the techniques used to determine the factors influencing fog formation, its classification, tools and techniques available for its detection and forecast. Some recent advanced are also discussed in this review: role of soil properties on fogs, application of microwave communication links in the detection of fog, new class of smog, and how the cognitive abilities of humans are affected by fog. Recently India and China are facing an emergence and repetitions of fog haze/smog and thus their policies initiatives are also briefly discussed. It is concluded that the complexity in fog forecasting is high due to multiple factors playing a role at multiple levels. Most of the researchers have worked upon the role of humidity, temperature, wind, and boundary layer to predict fogs. However, the role of global wind circulations, soil properties, and anthropogenic heat requires further investigations. Literature shows that fog is being harnessed to address water insecurity in various countries, however, coastal areas of Angola, Namibia and South Africa, Kenya, Eastern Yemen, Oman, China, India, Sri Lanka, Mexico, along with the mountainous regions of Peru, Chile, and Ecuador, are some of the potential sites that can benefit from the installation of fog water harvesting systems.

This paper aims at a definition of the domain of ecohydrology, a relatively new discipline borne out of an intrusion-as advertised by this Topical Collection of the Rendiconti Lincei-of hydrology and geomorphology into ecology (or vice-versa, depending on the reader's background). The study of hydrologic controls on the biota proves, in our view, significantly broader than envisioned by its original focus that was centered on the critical zone where much of the action of soil, climate and vegetation interactions takes place. In this review of related topics and contributions, we propose a reasoned broadening of perspective, in particular by firmly centering ecohydrology on the fluvial catchment as its fundamental control volume. A substantial unity of materials and methods suggests that our advocacy may be considered legitimate.

Endogenous retrovirus (ERV) research amalgamates host-retroviral coevolutionary, phylogenomic, infection, immunity, and cellular studies in various hosts ranging from fish to humans. Henceforth, a bibliometric analysis of these publications may aid in the identification of trends in ERV research. It was the foremost bibliographic study, with the key aim to conduct the bibliometric network analysis (e.g. co-authorship, co-occurrence, citation, bibliographic coupling, and co-citation analysis) to find the most prolific authors, organizations, and countries in ERV research, based on the mapping of bibliographic data. Second, the mapping based on text data comprised to chalk out the research trend over the time. The global literature about endogenous retroviruses published between 1985 and Sep 2021 was searched in the Web of Science (Core Collection) database using the "ENDOGENOUS RETROVIRUS" keyword. The bibliometric analysis of this dataset was carried out using VOSviewer version 1.6.17. According to findings, English was the de facto language of these publications, and 2157 were original articles. Among 2939 published documents, "endogenous retrovirus" was the most frequent keyword. Moreover, it revealed the United States as a core contributor to studies on the ERV. The Journal of Virology published a substantial amount of manuscripts in ERV. Robert Koch Institute and Harvard University were leading organizations for research in this field. The application of ERV research from China could be the research hotspot to follow in the coming years. Current bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive picture of ERV research progress and has highlighted the contribution of different stakeholders.

The reduction of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission by replacing fossil energy stocks with carbon-neutral fuels is a major topic of the political and scientific debate on environmental sustainability. Such shift in energy sources is expected to curtail the accumulation rate of atmospheric CO, which is a strong infrared absorber and thus contributes to the global warming effect. Although such change would produce desirable outputs, the consequences of a drastic decrease in atmospheric CO (the substrate of photosynthesis) should be carefully considered in the light of its potential impact on ecosystems stability and agricultural productivity. Indeed, plants regulate CO uptake and water loss through the same anatomical structure: the leaf stomata. A reduced CO availability is thus expected to enhance transpiration rate in plants decreasing their water use efficiency and imposing an increased water demand for both agricultural and wild ecosystems. We suggest that this largely underestimated issue should be duly considered when implementing policies that aim at the mitigation of global environmental changes and, at the same time, promote sustainable agricultural practices, include the preservation of biodiversity. Also, we underlie the important role(s) that modern biotechnology could play to tackle these global challenges by introducing new traits aimed at creating crop varieties with enhanced CO capture and water- and light-use efficiency.

In 2013, two papers suggested behavioural biologists to use videos available on social media as a tool for investigating animal behaviour, a methodology referred to as video mining. Here, this approach was applied to the study of specific aspects of peregrine falcon () nestlings' behaviour at critical developmental stages. Special attention was given to food begging behaviour and its development. The materials included 254 videos (from 31 nests and 51 different broods) that underwent strict selection procedures to ensure their reliability and quality. Following age estimation of the nestlings, videos were divided into four classes to study age-related differences in begging behaviour. No statistically significant differences emerged among age classes. Video mining may represent a valuable tool for qualitative analyses if wisely and rigorously applied in suitable species and for appropriate research questions. Besides, the video mining approach could also be applied in citizen-science-based studies.

Industrialization leads to the entry of diverse xenobiotic compounds into the environment. One such compound is paracetamol (APAP), which is emerging as a pharmaceutical and personal care pollutant (PPCP). In this study, the APAP degrading bacterium was isolated by enrichment culture method from the sewage sample. The microscopy, biochemical, and 16S rRNA gene sequence analyzed the isolate PPY-2, which belongs to , and GenBank assigned accession number MN744328. Physiological and batch culture degradation studies have indicated that the strain involved in the degradation of APAP. The optimum pH for degradation of the PPY-2 was 7.7, whereas the temperature was 25 °C, agitation speed was 142 rpm, and concentration of APAP was 621 mg/L reported, and the optimum temperatures were 42 °C and 32 °C, respectively. Biomass kinetic was studied at optimal physical conditions, which suggested that the specific growth rate () was 721 mg/L. The GC-MS chromatogram peaks have detected metabolites, viz., oxalic acid, 2-isopropyl-5-methyl cyclohexanone, and phenothiazine. The study confirmed that strain PPY-2 exhibits metabolic potential to biodegradation APAP and can be further deployed in bioremediation.