Ana Maria Dodocioiu

Post-mining agricultural reclamation requires crop productivity to be rebuilt without exhausting nutrient reserves or destabilizing soil chemistry. We reanalyzed a three-year maize study at Husnicioara, Romania, using the original doctoral thesis as the primary provenance source. Baseline soil measurements were made in 2000 and final measurements in 2003. The archive documents two parallel experiments: one on a single 25 t ha⁻¹ well-fermented manure background and one without manure, each containing seven mineral treatments (N0, N40, N80, N120, N160, N160P80, and N160P80K80) in four replicates. Because a common randomized factorial layout was not recovered, model-based tests were limited to within-experiment treatment-associated soil changes; between-background differences were descriptive. Change-score ANOVA identified strong treatment-associated differences in pH decline, mobile P, and mobile K in both experiments (all p < 0.001), whereas the humus response was not robust. Cumulative yield, available only as treatment totals, reached 7.416 t ha⁻¹ without manure and 13.806 t ha⁻¹ on the manure background. P80 was associated with higher extractable P, and K80 with higher extractable K. Historical P–K residuals are interpreted as soil-test balance diagnostics rather than closed nutrient budgets. The study supports staged, monitored reclamation management and a new randomized validation trial, not a current economic optimum.

Background/Objectives: Dietary nitrate, long framed through food-safety concerns about N-nitroso compound formation, is now also recognised as a substrate of the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide pathway. This review aims to define the mechanistic, dietary and host conditions under which nitrate bioactivation becomes functionally relevant, with particular attention to its microbial determinants and to the level of inference the evidence actually supports. Methods: We conducted a narrative review supported by a structured literature search (PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science; 1 January 1976 to 14 February 2026; full-text, peer-reviewed, English-language, human-relevant sources; 148 sources retained, of which 93 contributed to the evidence synthesis), with narrative synthesis of mechanistic, interventional, observational and regulatory sources addressing dietary source and food matrix, enterosalivary metabolism, oral and gut microbial function, and health-related outcomes. A PRISMA-style flow diagram summarises the documented screening and inclusion process, and the complete database-specific search strategies are provided in Supplementary Table S1; no meta-analysis was performed because of substantial heterogeneity in designs and outcomes. Results: Within the canonical enterosalivary pathway, nitrate-to-nitrite bioactivation is predominantly microbiota-dependent and downstream conversion is chemically conditional: within the enterosalivary cycle, nitrate-reducing bacteria on the tongue dorsum generate the nitrite required for downstream nitric oxide formation, and its conversion in the stomach depends on pH and on matrix constituents. Dietary source and food matrix therefore govern both the delivered dose and the chemistry that follows, so vegetables, beetroot products, inorganic salts, drinking water and processed meat are not interchangeable exposure models. The oral microbiota is the principal microbial determinant of the response, whereas the gut microbiota acts as a context-dependent modifier of intestinal redox tone, barrier function and microbial ecology, supported by markedly weaker human evidence. Nitrate-rich sources reproducibly raise nitrate and nitrite biomarkers, with variable effects on blood pressure, vascular function and exercise efficiency, limited or inconsistent effects on cognition, cerebral blood flow and metabolic endpoints, and a safety profile whose interpretation depends on food matrix, dose, exposure pattern and host context rather than concentration alone. Conclusions: We propose the Source–Matrix–Microbiota–Host (SMMH) framework, in which biological impact depends on the interaction between dietary source and dose, food matrix, microbial nitrate-reducing capacity and host susceptibility, rather than on nitrate dose alone, and in which pathway-level, physiological and clinical evidence are kept explicitly distinct. The evidence base is mechanistically robust for the oral microbiota, considerably less defined for the gut microbiota, and variable at the level of validated clinical endpoints; it does not yet support source-independent guidelines or population-level recommendations.

This narrative review develops fermentation-oriented viticulture as an agronomic-oenological framework linking vineyard environment, management and must ecology to fermentation performance. The literature from 2010 to April 2026 was synthesized through structured searches in PubMed and Google Scholar, complemented by targeted searches in MDPI, Frontiers, Nature, ScienceDirect, OENO One, PNAS and European Union regulatory sources, with emphasis on 2020–2026 publications and retention of older foundational sources. Current evidence indicates that must microbiota is not a linear derivative of soil or berry surfaces, but a network outcome of connected habitats spanning the viticultural biotope and grapevine-associated biocenosis (soil, rhizosphere, phyllosphere, berry, insect, atmospheric and winery). Climate warming, drought, altered phenology, soil fertility, nitrogen nutrition, crop-protection programs and bio-based inputs jointly modify berry chemistry, yeast-assimilable nitrogen (YAN), microbial inocula and pre-fermentative selection pressures. The review distinguishes fermentation-oriented viticulture from descriptive microbial terroir by defining practical endpoints: fermentation onset and completion, sluggish or stuck fermentation risk, microbial stability, spoilage taxa, volatilome development and wine typicity. It also proposes operational indicators and a decision matrix for integrating vineyard and winery management. The framework supports future multi-vintage studies combining climate, soil, agronomic metadata, YAN, microbiome profiling and microvinification outcomes.

This study explores consumer perceptions of pharmaceutical waste management, focusing on the reasons behind non-compliance with disposal regulations and the level of awareness regarding environmental and public health risks. A structured questionnaire of 21 items was distributed to 100 individuals, of whom 63 responded (response rate: 63%). The survey included demographic variables, medicine consumption habits, disposal practices, and awareness levels. Results indicate that while most respondents acknowledge the risks of improper disposal, many still discard medicines with household waste rather than using collection points. Younger adults and individuals with higher education demonstrated greater awareness. The findings underline the gap between knowledge and practice, highlighting the urgent need for targeted awareness campaigns, improved infrastructure, and collaborative efforts among government, pharmacies, and the pharmaceutical industry

The research investigates nitrate and nitrite concentrations in vegetables sold at agri-food markets in Craiova, Dolj County. Vegetable samples were purchased from markets and sourced from the primary agricultural regions of Dolj County, ensuring a representative selection. A total of 300 samples were collected, with 20 samples taken from each of 15 vegetable species at commercial maturity. This research also aimed to estimate the contribution of each type of vegetable to the intake of nitrates/nitrites ingested through consumption, as well as to carry out an assessment of the risk to human health associated with the consumption of these vegetables. Our analysis showed that only three vegetables (tomatoes, eggplants, and bell peppers) exceeded the maximum permissible nitrate levels (MPL). The MPL for nitrite content was exceeded in several vegetables, including eggplant, green bean, lettuce, cabbage, dill, spinach, and lovage. For nitrates, the Hazard Risk Index (HRI) was consistently below 1 across all samples, with the sole exception of children’s consumption scenario. The HRI for nitrite was also below 1 for all samples, suggesting an absence of exposure risk. The findings from this study suggest that the consumption of vegetable products poses an insignificant risk in terms of nitrate and nitrite intake.

The purpose of the present study is to determine the degree of pollution of groundwater that supply the existing public wells in the area of Șimnicu de Sus commune. In order to achieve this objective, in the period March-May of 2023, water samples were taken from 5 wells located on the public domain of Șimnicu de Sus, Dolj county, in order to determine the degree of groundwater pollution. The water samples were collected directly from the water of the wells and were transported to the laboratory where they were subjected to the following physico-chemical determinations: pH, conductivity, total hardness, fixed residue, ammoniacal nitrogen, calcium, magnesium, nitrates and nitrites.

Wheat is one of the most important food plants grown in over 45 countries, feeding 35-40% of the world's population. The main utility is manufacturing bread and various products made from flour. Bread is the basic food for the majority of the world's population. No other food satisfies the needs of the human body as completely and economically as wheat bread. The most complete and perfect food is bread, which is obtained from flour of wheat. Through this study, it was followed how the different properties of bakery of white flour type 650 alter during the maturation period for 30 days. The analysed properties were studied on 3 batches of type 650 flour obtained in February 2022. Type 650 white flour was studied because it is the most used flour in the bakery industry and the consumption of white bread is approximately 65% ​​compared to the others bread assortments. On the flour samples obtained by grinding, the following parameters were monitored at intervals of 10, 20 and 30 days: moisture content, wet gluten content, hydration capacity, dough development time, dough stability. For all three flour samples taken in the study, it is observed that the capacity of flour hydration increases during storage by 1.4 units in batch 3, by 1.8 units in batch 2 and by 2 units to batch 3, the development time of the flour, determined for the three batches of type 650 flour, registers a decrease, which varies between 0.4 in lot 2 and 3, and 0.9 in lot 1; and as for the stability of the dough, there is an increase that signifies the time the dough maintains its maximum consistency, which indicates the dough's tolerance for kneading. The gluten content and the moisture content during the storage period decrease in all 3 flour samples.

This paper presents the assessment of the concentration of PM 2.5 particles at the level of the Craiova Municipality, reported over a period of 8 months, comparing it with the established limit value and with the specific quality index for PM 2.5, as well as the quantitative assessment of the data provided by the independent sensors in relation to the local stations in the RNMCA. The PM 2.5 values used are provided by specially chosen sensors, located in the "red" areas of the city, frequently indicated by Craiova residents for poor air quality, evaluated through the lens of discomfort felt.

The study was conducted in two neighboring localities located in the northern county of Dolj, namely Murgasi and Bulzesti. The purpose of the study was twofold: namely, the study of heavy metal loading in order to identify possible pollution areas and to know the soil content of these localities in heavy metals in order to be able to give the verdict on the use of sludge from Craiova wastewater treatment plant as fertilizer on these soils. In order to determine the suitability of sewage sludge from the Craiova wastewater treatment plant as a fertilizer, physical and chemical properties and heavy metal content of the soils in these areas were analysed, as well as the chemical composition of sludge, according to Order 344/2004 of the Ministry of Environment and Water Management of Romania, respectively 13 physical and chemical parameters of the soils in these localities and the chemical composition of the sludge and respectively the quantity of heavy metals to be introduced annually into the soil by using it.