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Siderophores are low molecular weight secondary metabolites produced by microorganisms under low iron stress as a specific iron chelator. In the present study, a rhizospheric bacterium was isolated from the rhizosphere of sesame plants from Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India and later identified as Bacillus subtilis LSBS2. It exhibited multiple plant-growth-promoting (PGP) traits such as hydrogen cyanide (HCN), ammonia, and indole acetic acid (IAA), and solubilized phosphate. The chrome azurol sulphonate (CAS) agar plate assay was used to screen the siderophore production of LSBS2 and quantitatively the isolate produced 296 mg/L of siderophores in succinic acid medium. Further characterization of the siderophore revealed that the isolate produced catecholate siderophore bacillibactin. A pot culture experiment was used to explore the effect of LSBS2 and its siderophore in promoting iron absorption and plant growth of Sesamum indicum L. Data from the present study revealed that the multifarious Bacillus sp. LSBS2 could be exploited as a potential bioinoculant for growth and yield improvement in S. indicum.

This article describes an innovative method for measuring lighting levels and other lighting parameters through the use of aerial imagery of towns and cities. Combined with electricity consumption data from smart electricity meters, it was possible to measure the energy efficiency of public lighting installations. The results of this study also confirmed that lighting measurements, installation material, luminaire position, and electricity consumption data can be easily integrated into geographic information systems (GIS). The main advantage of this new methodology is that it provides information about lighting installations in large areas in less time than more conventional procedures. It is thus a more effective way of obtaining the data required to calculate the energy efficiency of lighting levels and electricity consumption. There is even the possibility of generating street lighting maps that provide local administrations with up-to-date information regarding the status of public lighting installations in their city. In this way, modifications or improvements can be made to achieve greater energy savings and, if necessary, to correct the distribution or configuration of public lighting systems to make them more efficient and sustainable. This research studied levels of street lighting and calculated the energy efficiency in various streets of Deifontes (Granada), through the use of aerial imagery.

Corruption has found very fertile ground in the health sector. Many studies demonstrate the negative relationship between sustainability and corruption. However, relatively little is known at this time about how to prevent corruption in healthcare organizations (HCOs), and thus to recover the important sustainability of the entire healthcare system. After noticing this gap in the literature, the authors’ aim in undertaking this study was twofold: first, to analyze the current state of knowledge about how Italian HCOs adopt corruption prevention plans in compliance with the National Plan issued by the National Anti-Corruption Authority; second, to identify some clusters of HCOs which represent different adoption patterns of corruption prevention interventions and to classify these HCOs. For these purposes, the authors studied 68 HCOs along 13 dimensions that characterized the corruption prevention plans. The empirical results showed that the HCOs were not fully compliant with the anti-corruption legislation. At the same time, the authors identified three clusters of HCOs with different patterns of anti-corruption prevention interventions. The clusters that adopted some specific interventions seemed to be more sustainable than others.

Floods are among the most devastating disasters in terms of socio-economics and casualties. However, these natural disasters can be managed and their effects can be minimized by flood modeling performed before the occurrence of a flood. In this study, flood modeling was developed for the Göksu River Basin, Mersin, Türkiye. Flood hazard and risk maps were prepared by using GIS, HEC-RAS, and HEC-HMS. In hydraulic modeling, Manning’s n values were obtained from 2018 CORINE data, return period flow rates (Q25, Q50, Q100, Q500) were obtained from HEC-HMS, and the application was carried out on a 5 m resolution digital surface model. In the study area, the water depths could reach up to 10 m, and water speeds were approximately 0.7 m/s. Considering these values and the fact that the study area is an urban area, hazard maps were obtained according to the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) method. The results indicated that possible flood flow rates from Q25 to Q500, from 1191.7 m3/s to 1888.3 m3/s, were detected in the study area with HEC-HMS. Flooding also occurred under conditions of the Q25 flow rate (from 4288 km2 to 5767 km2), and the impacted areas were classified as extremely risky by the DEFRA method.

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) provides an attractive alternative method for the treatment of high-moisture waste and, in particular, digested sludge. HTC could reduce the costs and environmental risks associated with sludge handling and management. Although it is recognized that the dewaterability of hydrochars produced from digested sludge, even at mild temperatures (180–190 °C), is highly improved with respect to the starting material, the filterability of HTC slurries for the recovery of the solid material (hydrochar) still represents a challenge. This study presents the results of an investigation into the filterability of agro-industrial digested sludge HTC slurries produced by a C-700 CarboremTM HTC industrial-scale plant. The filterability of HTC slurries, produced at 190 °C for 1 h, with the use of acid solutions of hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid or citric acids, was investigated by using a semi-industrial filter press. The use of sulfuric acid or citric acid solutions, in particular, significantly improved the filterability of HTC slurries, reducing the time of filtration and residual moisture content. The acid treatment also promoted the migration of heavy metals and phosphorus (P) in the HTC filtrate solution. This study demonstrates that P can be recovered via the precipitation of struvite in high yields, recovering up to 85 wt% by mass of its initial P content.

In the transition from linear production systems, unsustainable from the point of view of resources, to a model that finds strength in environmental, social and economic sustainability, the circular economy paradigm is the foundation that facilitates the planetary agro-ecological transition. The European Union has taken a number of steps (including the Circular Economy Package of Directives) shaping circularity as a wide-ranging driver measure involving many sectors. The paper intends to provide a regulatory framework on the current general situation regarding circularity in European Union, in order to extrapolate and give evidence to the aspects that intersect the agri-food sector. This is not only because they are poorly addressed in the literature, but also because there is a lack of regulatory instruments on the circular economy specifically addressing this area of interest. For this purpose, the analysis focuses on waste and residue/scrap management issues, recognized by law as by-products and end-of-waste status, as they are covered by circular economy legislation and as they can be applied to the agri-food sector. The latter allow the implementation of circularity strategies in the agri-food sector and, given the numerousness of production chains and the peculiarities of each of them, various regeneration and/or reuse processes of specific resources may be depicted. The intent is to provide useful knowledge on how to implement sustainable waste management, also proposing a concrete case on a by-product of olive oil processing, through which it is possible to highlight how the correct application of regulations favors the adoption of circular economic and management models in the firms involved, as well as informing the relevant economic operators on the possible profiles of legal liability that may arise from insufficient knowledge. Furthermore, this paper delves into the European Green Deal’s Strategy as it enriches the circular economy paradigm with new facets. NextGenerationEU and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan financially support this strategy in the aftermath of the socioeconomic crisis from COVID-19 in the EU Member States. This is in order to achieve the objective of achieving the agro-ecological transition.

Higher education is incorporating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at a fast rate for different purposes. Scientific papers include within the concept of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) the myriad applications of information and communication technology, e-resources, and pedagogical approaches to the development of education. TEL’s specific application to higher education is especially relevant for countries under rapid development for providing quick and sustainable access to quality education (UN sustainable development goal 4). This paper presents the research results of an online pedagogical experience in collaborative academic research for analyzing good practice in TEL-supported higher education development. The results are obtained through a pilot implementation providing curated data on TEL competency’s development of faculty skills and analysis of developing sustainable higher education degrees through TEL cooperation, for capacity building. Given the increased volume and complexity of the knowledge to be delivered, and the exponential growth of the need for skilled workers in emerging economies, online training is the most effective way of delivering a sustainable higher education. The results of the PETRA Erasmus+ capacity-building project provides evidence of a successful implementation of a TEL-supported methodology for collaborative faculty development focused on future online degrees built collaboratively and applied locally.