Conservation state of two paintings in the Santa Margherita cliff cave: role of the environment and of the microbial community

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The conservation of ancient paintings sited in humid environments is an actual challenge for restorers, because it needs the knowledge of the...     

Long-range transport and re-circulation of pollutants in the western Mediterranean during the project Regional Cycles of Air Pollution in the West-Central Mediterranean Area

During the warm season (March–September), high ozone concentrations have been reported at the coastal and mountain monitoring stations of the eastern Iberia coast (Millán et al., J. Geophys. Res. 102 (D7) 8811, J. Appl. Meteorol. 4 (2000) 487). The vegetation protection threshold of current Directive 92/72/EEC and the World Health Organisation guideline for the protection of crops and semi-natural vegetation are systematically exceeded during the whole period. The main objective of the present study is to search for the origin of these chronic pollution levels: to search for the reason(s) for such high O₃ concentrations during such a long period. A mesoscale model is used to reproduce the diurnal cycle of winds and stability/layering over the Western Mediterranean Basin (WMB), at a sufficient space/temporal resolution, under a typical recursive synoptic condition during the warm season: data from the flight tracks of the European Project—Regional Cycles of Air Pollution in the West-Central Mediterranean Area—are used to substantiate the model results. Times of residence and the final distribution of pollutants entering the WMB are estimated using single-particle Lagrangian trajectories and a multiple-particle dispersion model. Our results show that the marine boundary layer and the lower troposphere in the region between the Balearic Islands and eastern Iberia are subject to a flow regime that tends to accumulate pollutants within large circulations, covering the entire western basin. We have also shown a diurnal pulsation of the Tramontana/Mistral wind regime, which can transport new pollutants into the area (background concentrations of 50–65 ppb of O₃ of continental European origin) that are added to local emissions and re-circulated within the coastal breezes at eastern Iberia for periods of more than five days. Local emissions and wind configuration contribute to increase the O₃ concentrations up to 100 ppb and even more.     

Eco-Compatible Use of Olive Husk as Filler in Thermoplastic Composites

A study on the possibility of recycling waste materials, such as olive husk, the solid phase derived from an olive oil mill, in blend with thermoplastic polymers to produce new materials for manufacturer of, for example, containers and formworks, has been carried out. The present paper describes the methodology used for the preparation and the characterization of composite samples prepared by mixing various percentages of olive husk and polypropylene. A screening on the chemical-physical characteristics of the olive husk is reported, as well as a set of tests applied to evaluate the mechanical properties of the manufactured products obtained.     

Monitoring of a Coastal Mediterranean Area: Culturable Bacteria, Phytoplankton, Environmental Factors and their Relationships in the Southern Adriatic Sea

Culturable heterotrophic bacterial and phytoplanktonic densities were investigated at four sites in the Southern Adriatic Sea (Brindisi, S. Cataldo, Otranto and S. M. di Leuca) over an annual cycle. The main phytoplankton groups, the bacterial biodiversity, as well as the faecal contamination indicators were determined. Culturable bacterial numbers averaged 4.8 ± 0.2 log CFU ml⁻¹ whereas phytoplankton numbers averaged 2.1 ± 0.4 log cells ml⁻¹. Relationships between culturable bacteria, phytoplankton and the environmental factors were established. Bacterial and phytoplankton densities usually depended significantly on temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphate and nitrite only in the S. Cataldo transect. In all the examined transects phytoplankton showed a bloom during the January–February period followed by a bacterial peak during the February–March period. Thus we can suppose that the phytoplankton winter bloom is responsible for the availabily of organic matter for bacterial populations in the following months in this oligotrophic ecosystem.     

Revalorization of Macadamia nutshell residue as a filler in eco-friendly castor polyol-based polyurethane foam

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - The use of lignocellulosic fibers as fillers in polymer matrices has aroused the interest of the scientific community and industrial sectors. In...     

Use of beryllium-7 to document soil redistribution following forest harvest operations

Rapid and reliable methods for documenting soil erosion associated with forest harvest operations are needed to support the development of best management practices for soil and water conservation. To address this need, the potential for using 7Be measurements to estimate patterns and amounts of soil redistribution associated with individual post-harvest events was explored. The 7Be technique, which was originally developed for use on agricultural land, was employed to estimate soil redistribution associated with a period of heavy rainfall within a harvested forest area located in the Lake Region of Chile (39 degrees 44'7' S, 73 degrees 10'39' W; 22% slope; and mean annual rainfall 2300 mm yr(-1)). The results provided by the 7Be technique were validated against direct measurements of soil gain or loss during the same period obtained using erosion pins. The information produced by the two approaches was similar. The results of this study demonstrate the potential for using 7Be measurements to document event-based erosion in recently harvested forest areas.     

Pharmaceutical compound removal efficiency by a small constructed wetland located in south Brazil

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The fate of pharmaceuticals during the treatment of effluents is of major concern since they are not completely degraded and because of their...     

Total and inorganic arsenic in Antarctic macroalgae

The Antarctic region offers unparalleled possibilities of investigating the natural distribution of metals and metalloids, such as arsenic. Total and inorganic As were analysed in nine species of Antarctic macroalgae collected during the 2002 summer season in the Potter Cove area at Jubany-Dallmann Station (South Shetland Islands, Argentinian Base). Total As was determined by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry after microwave-assisted acid digestion. Inorganic As was determined by acid digestion, solvent extraction, flow injection-hydride generation-atomic absorption spectrometry. Total As ranged from 5.8 microg g(-1) dry weight (dw) (Myriogramme sp.) to 152 microg g(-1)dw (Himantothallus grandifolius). Total As concentrations were higher in Phaeophytes (mean+/-SD: 71+/-44 microg g(-1)dw) than in Rhodophytes (mean+/-SD: 15+/-11 microg g(-1)dw). Inorganic As ranged from 0.12 microg g(-1) (Myriogramme sp.) to 0.84 microg g(-1)dw (Phaeurus antarcticus). The percentage of inorganic As with respect to total As was 0.7 for Phaeophytes, but almost 4 times higher for Rhodophytes (2.6). The work discusses possible causes for the presence of As in marine organisms in that pristine environment.     

Transabdominal chorionic villus sampling: Fetal loss rate in relation to maternal and gestational age

In this paper we report the fetal loss rate in relation to both maternal and gestational age in 1764 pregnant women who underwent transabdominal chorionic villus sampling (TA-CVS) between January 1986 and August 1990. The fetal loss rate, considered as a proportion of continuing pregnancies, decreased with advancing gestational age at sampling from 4.3 per cent before 9 weeks to 0.4 per cent at or after 13 weeks, the difference being statistically significant (p <0.025). The fetal loss rate increased from 1.6 per cent in women under 30 to 2.4 per cent in women of 40 years or over, but the difference was not statistically significant. Considering that the total fetal loss rate before 28 weeks' gestation was on average 1.91 percent (1.3 per cent under 35 years and 2.8 per cent in women of 35 or over), we believe that TA-CVS is a safe and effective technique for prenatal diagnosis of genetic diseases.     

Amino and fatty acid dynamics of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Lysmata seticaudata</Emphasis> (Decapoda: Hippolytidae) embryos during early and late reproductive season

The present study investigates amino and fatty acid dynamics of embryos of different-sized simultaneous hermaphrodite shrimp (SH) (Lysmata seticaudata) during early (ERS) and late reproductive seasons (LRS). A significant relative decrease in total amino acids and essential amino acids (EAA) was recorded (P<0.05) during the development of embryos produced by shrimp collected during ERS and LRS. The content of non-essential amino acids (NEAA) showed a smaller variation, without a marked decrease. During the last embryonic stage, the major EAAs of embryos were, in decreasing magnitude, lysine and arginine, while the major NEAAs were glutamic acid and valine. A substantial decrease in lipid content (P<0.05) was observed, and the quantitatively more important fatty acids were the saturates 16:0 and 18:0, the monounsaturates 18:1n-9 and 18:1n-7 and the polyunsaturates 20:4n-6 (arachidonic acid, ARA), 20:5n-3 (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) and 22:6n-3 (docosahexaenoic acid, DHA). Monounsaturates were used at a higher rate, and embryos produced by SH shrimp displayed similar consumption rates of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Considering individual fatty acids, no clear utilization pattern between different-sized SH shrimp in ERS and LRS was recorded. The inexistence of consistent differences between amino and fatty acid utilization during embryogenesis among different-sized SH shrimp in ERS and LRS emphasizes the variability affecting offspring in decapod crustaceans.Communicated by S.A. Poulet, Roscoff