Illicit psychotropic substance contents in the air of Italy

Two in-field campaigns were performed in 2009 to elucidate the contents of illicit psychotropic substances in airborne particulates of Italian cities. Twenty-eight localities of eight Italian regions were investigated in winter, and further eleven sites in June (14 regions in total), thanks to contribution of Regional Environmental Agencies. Cocaine was found almost everywhere, although some sites were rural or suburban. The maximum was recorded in Milan in winter (～0.39 ng m^?3), and “high” values (up to ～0.16 ng m^?3) in other Northern cities and in Rome. Besides cocaine, three cannabinoids will be monitored, namely Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol and cannabinol. The three compounds often affected the air at lower extents than cocaine, and sometimes resulted absent. Cannabinol accounted for up to 90% of the total. The concentrations of illicit compounds were up to six times lower in June than in winter. This decrease was probably induced by the lowering of boundary layer height typical of winter, and by the oxidizing capacity of atmosphere, which is stronger in the warm season. Compared to n-alkanes, polynuclear aromatic compounds, nicotine, caffeine and airborne particulate, cocaine seemed to follow a peculiar behaviour; in fact, meaningful (≥0.80) Pearson (linear) regression coefficients were calculated from the corresponding concentrations only at local scale (e.g. Rome), and within just one season. Improvements of the method are needed to monitor illicit drug metabolites (e.g. benzoylecgonine, ecgonine methyl ester, 9-carboxy-11-nor-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol), heroin and semi-volatile amphetamines.     

Chorionic villus sampling: An analysis of the obstetric experience of 1000 cases

Chorionic villus sampling was performed between 7 and 12 weeks gestation in 1000 patients, 935 of whom intended to continue after fetal diagnosis. Transcervical and Transabdominal aspiration techniques were used providing a sampling success rate of 99 per cent. Anatomical and clinical contraindications to transcervical aspiration were pointed out, and the complementary role of the transabdominal approach evaluated. In the 615 concluded pregnancies an overall abortion rate of 4.1 per cent was observed. A significant association between fetal loss and number of catheter insertions was demonstrated. Bacterial inoculation by catheter insertion and colonization of uterine cavity was suspected as the cause of chorionamnionitis diagnosed in two cases (0.2 per cent) after CVS. Bleeding was the most frequent early complication (12.0 per cent) following chorionic aspiration, but was not significantly related to pregnancy wastage. Late complications, i.e. premature rupture of membranes (0.8 per cent), preterm delivery (6.3 per cent), perinatal losses (1.2 per cent), placental disorders (1.6 per cent), and congenital defects (2.6 per cent) did not exceed the expected values. Normal intrauterine growth patterns were ultrasonically estimated by cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, while the weight at birth was normally distributed in the range of the general population.     

Safer management of process changes in chemical reactors

Nowadays many chemical industries are SMEs where multi-purpose batch or semi-batch reactors are commonly used. Vent sizing for realistic runaway scenario is not an easy task for such enterprises since they have usually few resources and use multi-purpose reactors with fast process turnovers. As a consequence these batch and semi-batch reactors are usually equipped with emergency relief systems sized once forever when the reactor is designed. This can lead to a large underestimation of the vent area in case of runaway reactions occurring when processes different from the ones considered for originally sizing the vent are carried out.The approach proposed in this work aims to identify the maximum reactor load leading to safe conditions even in case of runaway phenomena to be handled with the emergency relief system already installed (or even with a smaller vent area). This approach allows avoiding the change of the emergency relief system with a larger vent area (as required every time a new more hazardous process has to be carried out on existing reactors) at the price of lower plant productivity.     

Military humanitarian and disaster governance networks in Southeast Asia: framework and analysis

Behind humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts are governance networks of actors working together to facilitate, coordinate, and deliver joint aid and response initiatives. Militaries are key stakeholders in these networks because of their unique capabilities, particularly in Southeast Asia. This paper explores the role of military governance networks in shaping HADR affairs. It presents a framework for examining military-to-military relational structures in humanitarian and disaster contexts using network theory and social network analysis. It also assesses the nature of military ties and their influence on two capability areas essential to humanitarian activities in the region: (i) the distribution of military assets and equipment used in HADR; and (ii) the coordination of HADR exercises and training. This paper seeks to provide insights into how governance network features and properties affect the capacity of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) militaries to use available resources efficiently and to achieve shared objectives in regional disaster response.     

Zearalenone screening of human breast milk from the Naples area

The mycotoxin zearalenone exhibits estrogenic and anabolic properties in several animal species, humans included. Food contamination by zearalenone is caused either by direct contamination of grains, fruits, and their based-products or by “carry-over” of mycotoxins in animal tissues, milk, and eggs after intake of contaminated feedstuff. Now, a survey on zearalenone contamination in breast milk of healthy primiparous women living in the Naples countryside was conducted. From 47 healthy primiparous women, breast milk samples were collected within the first six weeks after delivery as well as clinical data of mother–newborn pairs. Breast milk analyses were performed with both competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. At 36.9 ± 2.6 days after vaginal delivery, the mean zearalenone contents of the breast milk samples were 1.13 ± 0.34 µg/L. The zearalenone levels correlated with both mother weights before pregnancy (r = ?0.506; P < 0.001) and at delivery (r = ?0.351; P < 0.05). The present results indicate that breast milk may be contaminated with zearalenone.     

Biochemical composition of a meso-bathyal lobster

To characterise some traits of the life strategies of Polycheles typhlops, a deep-sea small lobster usually encountered as by-catch within deep trawls in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Mediterranean Sea), we analysed the biochemical composition of the caudal muscles of 49 specimens collected in March and April 2007. Differences in the biochemical composition between females and males were weak, but relevant differences in protein (>90% of the organic C) and lipid (4–6%) contents were observed between developmental stages both in females and males. These differences are likely to be related to different food items and/or to the metabolic shifts associated with their reproduction. We argue that this deep-sea lobster could cover a relevant role in the meso-pelagic food webs and attract future commercial interest.     

Detection of polychlorinated biphenyls employing chemical dechlorination followed by biphenyl whole cell sensing system

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a mixture of 209 individual chlorinated compounds commonly known as PCB congeners. These compounds are hydrophobic and are persistent in the environment. Their use was banned in the US a few decades ago because of harmful health effects. Therefore, detection of PCBs in environmental samples is increasingly important. To that end, we have developed a two-step simple and sensitive method for the detection of total PCBs. Specifically, our method involves dechlorination of PCBs to biphenyl followed by detection of biphenyl using a whole cell sensing system as the detection system. The whole cell sensing system consists of cells of the strain Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes KF707 harboring plasmid pSD7000. Plasmid pSD7000 contains the gene of lacZ, a reporter protein under the control of the bph operon. The detection is achieved through the emission of light afforded by the expression of reporter protein triggered by the presence of biphenyl. Due to the fact that this operon is activated only by few PCB congeners, a chemical dechlorination method was employed to convert all PCBs to biphenyl, and thus all the PCBs present in a given sample are able to be detected. The results showed that PCB congeners were rapidly (30?min) and efficiently (>98.5%) dechlorinated to biphenyl using a Mg/K₂PdCl₆ catalyst, and the biphenyl could be subsequently quantified using the whole cell sensing system. This hybrid analytical method that combines classical dechlorination with novel biosensing methods may find applications in the on-site monitoring of PCBs contamination levels.     

Proximity to competitors changes secondary metabolites of non-indigenous cup corals, Tubastraea spp., in the southwest Atlantic

Competition for space changes species’ distributions and community organization on tropical rocky shores, and the presence of secondary metabolites in the tissues of non-indigenous species may aid them in establishing and expanding their range through negative competitive interactions. The aim of this study was to describe the range of chemical substances produced by the non-indigenous cup corals Tubastraea coccinea and T. tagusensis and to test whether they varied in the field when the corals were placed in proximity to two local competitors. Cholest-5-en-3β-ol and 9-octadecanoic acid were two common secondary metabolites found in the tissues of Tubastraea. In the competition interaction experiment, necrosis was detected on the tissues of the coral Mussismilia hispida, and this species induced variation in sterol, alkaloid, and fatty acid production in Tubastraea tissues. In contrast, a sponge overgrew Tubastraea colonies. These results indicate that chemical defense may contribute to the ability of these non-indigenous corals to invade native communities.