The world’s attention is currently focused on the energy transition to sustainable energy. The drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit global warming, energy security, and the generalization of access to energy have contributed to the adoption of the Moroccan Energy Strategy, with a strong focus on renewable energy (RE). Morocco is notoriously poor in conventional primary fossil energy resources, with energy dependence on the order of 90%. In addition, the energy crisis that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts, compounded with steady increase in demand, has heavily affected the security and stability of the country’s energy situation. The transition to RE by strongly engaging in the implementation of several solar, wind, and hydro energy projects has made the country the leader in RE in Africa. These projects benefit from the country’s excellent solar and wind energy potential. As a consequence, by 2030, the share of RE in the installed capacity is expected to reach 52%. An overview of the current situation of RE (particularly solar energy) in Morocco is provided, including the potentials, obstacles, challenges, and future perspectives. Thanks to its high solar potential, it is predictable that Morocco’s effort will be focused on this field: the Erasmus plus INNOMED project is a virtuous example of international cooperation, aiming at promoting solar energy through capacity building and the creation of solar energy networks, in synergy with EU Partners.

Long and short-term exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has detrimental effects on human health. The effective mechanisms leading to PM toxicity are still not fully understood, even if it is known that physical-chemical properties, strongly influenced by sources and atmospheric processes, are known to play an important role. In this work, PM₁₀ samples were collected, at an urban background site in southern Italy, to determine cytotoxicity (using MTT test on A549 cells), genotoxicity (using the comet assay), and intracellular oxidative stress on A549 cells exposed for 24 h to aqueous extracts of PM₁₀ samples. Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) content of PM₁₀ and acellular determination of oxidative potential with DTT assay were performed to compare results of acellular and cellular biological assays. Cellular (OSGC_V and MTT_V) and acellular (OP^DTT_V) outcomes, normalized in volume, are well correlated (statistically significant results) with carbon content suggesting that combustion sources play an important role in determining cellular oxidative stress and cytotoxicity of PM₁₀. Even if the number of data is limited, genotoxicity results are well correlated (Pearson r > 0.95) with OSGC_V and MTT_V, and a weaker, but statistically significant correlation was observed with OP^DTT_V. OSGC_V is well correlated with the cell mortality observed with the MTT_V test and a lower, but still statistically significant correlation is observed between MTT_V and OP^DDT_V. A statistically significant correlation was found between OP^DTT_V and OSGC_V results. When the outcomes of the cellular and acellular assay are compared normalized in mass (i.e., intrinsic values), the correlations become significantly weaker suggesting that the different sources acting on the site produces particulate matter with different toxicological potential influencing differently the biological tests studied.

Exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) has detrimental effects on health, but specific mechanisms of toxicity are still not fully understood. In recent years, there has been a growing evidence that oxidative stress is an important mechanism of toxicity; however, when acellular oxidative potential (OP) data are correlated with the outcomes of in vitro (or in vivo) toxicological tests there are contrasting results. In this work, an analysis of PM₁₀ health effect indicators was done, using the acellular Dithiotreitol (DTT) assay to retrieve OP^DTT, the Microtox^® test on Vibrio fischeri bacterium to assess the ecotoxicological potential, and the in vitro MTT assay on the human cell line A549 to estimate the cytotoxicological potential. The objective was to evaluate the correlation among acellular OP^DTT and the results from toxicological and ecotoxicological bioassays and how these health-related indicators are correlated with atmospheric PM₁₀ concentrations collected at an urban background site in Southern Italy. Results indicated that both bioassays showed time-dependent and dose-dependent outcomes. Some samples presented significant ecotoxic and cytotoxic response and the correlation with PM₁₀ concentration was limited suggesting that these health endpoints depend on PM₁₀ chemical composition and not only on exposure concentrations. OP^DTT showed a statistically significant correlation with PM₁₀ concentrations. MTT and Microtox outcomes were not correlated suggesting that the two toxicological indicators are sensitive to different physical-chemical properties of PM₁₀. Intrinsic oxidative potential OP^DTT_M (DTT activity normalised with PM₁₀ mass) was correlated with mortality observed with MTT test (normalized with PM₁₀ mass); however, it was not correlated with Microtox outcomes.

Recent years have seen a significant increase in the scientific literature related to various methods for analyzing oxidative potential (OP) of atmospheric particulate matter (PM). The presence of several types of PM, differing chemical and physical properties, released by both anthropogenic and natural sources, leads to numerous health issues in living organisms and represents an attractive target for air quality monitoring. Therefore, several studies have focused on developing rapid and self-operative tests, employing different target molecules to assess OP of atmospheric aerosols as well as unique approaches to overcome some of the most common laboratory-related issues in this kind of analysis. This work provides an overview of online and automated systems, as well as a broad picture of the state-of-art of the various devices and methods developed on this topic over the last two decades. Moreover, representative studies on this subject will be discussed, analyzing the advantages and drawbacks of the developed automated techniques.

Throughout the cold and the warm periods of 2020, chemical and toxicological characterization of the water-soluble fraction of size segregated particulate matter (PM) (7.2 μm) was conducted in the urban agglomeration of Thessaloniki, northern Greece. Chemical analysis of the water-soluble PM fraction included water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), humic-like substances (HULIS), and trace elements (V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Cd and Pb). The bulk (sum of all size fractions) concentrations of HULIS were 2.5 ± 0.5 and 1.2 ± 0.3 μg m⁻³, for the cold and warm sampling periods, respectively with highest values in the <0.49 μm particle size fraction. The total HULIS-C/WSOC ratio ranged from 17 to 26% for all sampling periods, confirming that HULIS are a significant part of WSOC. The most abundant water-soluble metals were Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn. The oxidative PM activity was measured abiotically using the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay. In vitro cytotoxic responses were investigated using mitochondrial dehydrogenase (MTT). A significant positive correlation was found between OP_m^DTT, WSOC, HULIS and the MTT cytotoxicity of PM. Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) showed a good relationship between OP_M^DTT, HULIS and Cu.

Jordan is classified as a low- to-middle-income, in which the primary energy sources are imported crude oil and natural gas. The energy expenses represent a high percentage of the country's GDP. Meanwhile, due to its geographical location and its climate, Jordan ranks very high among the world countries with respect to solar energy exploitation potential. Therefore, solar energy is a key resource that can be utilized to significantly improve both the country’s economy and energy security. It has to be highlighted that Jordan focus on a network dedicated to solar energy and it has to be mentioned the Erasmus Plus INNOMED Project based on virtual classrooms, which aims to promote innovative technologies and applications of solar energy in MENA Countries. This paper presents an overview of the solar energy resources in Jordan that includes: the current situation, the potential, and future expectations.