Temperature and discharge variations in natural mineral water springs due to climate variability: a case study in the Piedmont Alps (NW Italy)

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - In the context of global climate change, understanding the relationships between climate and groundwater is increasingly important. This study in the NW Alps...     

Ergonomics and Work Organization: The Relationship Between Tayloristic Design and Workers’ Health in Banks and Credit Cards Companies

Abstract

The discussion developed in this paper is based on the results of an ergonomic work analysis carried out with attendants at call centers. Some critical issues and difficulties, like working pace, inadequate tools and workstations, and software inadequacies were detected in working situations. Operator-customer interactions are presented, attempting to put in evidence working constraints, working conditions, and their connection with health problems.

The main conclusion is that serving clients, especially when the job is to provide information, is not a simple task, as information is not always available in the computerized system and is completely fragmented. The scope of workers’ actions is very restricted and complicated and recurrent requests are redirected to others. Workers (individually or as groups) have limited possibilities to make adjustments to be able to give more adequate and personalized treatment to clients and, at the same time, to work in a less stressful environment. In periods of increased workload and work intensification, the situation is very much favorable to the incidence of health disorders, such as work related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSD) and others. Some suggestions to improve the work situation are discussed.     

Sperm allocation in relation to male traits, female size, and copulation behaviour in freshwater crayfish species

Sperm competition is a well-recognised agent in the evolution of sperm and ejaculate structure, as well as variation in female quality. Models of the evolution of ejaculate expenditure predict that male body condition, female fecundity and the risk and intensity of sperm competition may be the ultimate factors shaping optimal ejaculate size. We investigated sperm allocation in Austropotamobius italicus, a freshwater crayfish exhibiting a coercive mating system and external fertilisation, in relation to male and female traits and copulation behaviour under laboratory conditions. We found that mating males were sensitive to female size and produced larger ejaculates when mating with larger females, which were more fecund in terms of number of eggs produced. We found no evidence for female egg production being sperm-limited, as the number of eggs was not dependent on male sperm expenditure. Copulation duration and number of ejaculations reliably predicted the amount of sperm transferred, and both these behavioural measures positively covaried with female body size. These results indicate that male freshwater crayfish can modulate their sperm expenditure in accordance with cues that indicate female fecundity. In addition, a novel finding that emerged from this study is the decrease in sperm expenditure with male body size, which may either suggest that large, old male crayfish are better able than small males to economise sperm at a given mating to perform multiple matings during a reproductive season, or that they experience senescence of their reproductive performance.     

An alternative supercritical fluid extraction system for aqueous matrices and its application in pesticides residue analysis

Abstract

Supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) is a rapid and convenient method for the isolation of organic compounds from environmental samples. This paper describes a supercritical carbon dioxide (CO₂) extraction system that uses a newly designed extraction cell to recover organic compounds from an aqueous matrix. Analysis of the extracts by gas chromatography‐electron capture detector (GC‐ECD) indicated that the herbicide trifluralin (2,6‐dinitro‐N,N‐dipropyl‐4‐trifluoromethylaniline) could be quantitatively extracted by using the SFE system proposed with small amounts of sample. The percentage of recovery obtained with the SFE system described was twice as high as the result obtained using a conventional solid‐phase extraction technique. Extraction by SFE was completed in a short period of time using a simple and low‐cost home‐made system that did not require the use of organic solvents.     

Changes in photosynthesis, mesophyll conductance to CO2, and isoprenoid emissions in Populus nigra plants exposed to excess nickel

Poplar (Populus nigra) plants were grown hydroponically with 30 and 200 μM Ni (Ni₃₀ and Ni₂₀₀). Photosynthesis limitations and isoprenoid emissions were investigated in two leaf types (mature and developing). Ni stress significantly decreased photosynthesis, and this effect depended on the leaf Ni content, which was lower in mature than in developing leaves. The main limitations to photosynthesis were attributed to mesophyll conductance and metabolism impairment. In Ni-stressed developing leaves, isoprene emission was significantly stimulated. We attribute such stimulation to the lower chloroplastic [CO₂] than in control leaves. However chloroplastic [CO₂] did not control isoprene emission in mature leaves. Ni stress induced the emission of cis-β-ocimene in mature leaves, and of linalool in both leaf types. Induced biosynthesis and emission of isoprenoids reveal the onset of antioxidant processes that may also contribute to reduce Ni stress, especially in mature poplar leaves.     

Effects of two diluents in the Microtox toxicity bioassay with marine sediments

This paper compares the use of two different diluents, EPA synthetic seawater (salinity 31 per thousand ) and NaCl standard diluent (salinity 35 per thousand ), in the Microtox toxicity bioassay performed on elutriate and solid phase derived from marine sediments. The study was performed comparing three series of data obtained by the use of the two diluents.In the first series the intensity of the natural light output of Vibrio fischeri was considered; in the second series pH value, sulphite and ammonia present in the control and in the diluent after the treatment with the sediment samples; in the last series, the measured toxicity in marine sediments was considered. The light output intensity measured with respect to time, gives information about the bacterial activity due to the different osmotic conditions. pH values joint with ammonia and sulphite content, give information about the effect of the bacterial metabolic activities and of the different interaction between each diluent with the sediment sample. At last, the comparison of the two diluents on real samples show how the different osmotic and hydrogenionic conditions determine different toxicity responses. The results show that the EPA diluent allows more suitable environment for the metabolic activities of bacteria depending on lower stressing conditions than those present when the standard diluent is used. Moreover, the use of EPA diluent reduces the risk of false positive response in the execution of the toxicity bioassay.     

Evaluation of a simultaneous sampling method of PAHs, PCDD/Fs and dl-PCBs in ambient air

The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) was signed in May 2001 by 127 countries. Currently, 12 substances are regulated by the convention, and the work on finding new candidate chemicals to the convention has started. Among these 12 substances, dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are the objects of this study. There are no European standard methods for the simultaneous determination of these microorganic compounds, together with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in ambient air--they must be referred to three different methods developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The quali-quantitative analysis of these microorganic pollutants is an important challenge due to the low concentrations at which they may be present. In this study, the development of a simplified, alternative, fast and affordable sampling method for the determination of PAHs, PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs in ambient air was performed. The sampling time was extended from 24 h to 7 d in order to enrich the sample, to fall within the instrumental limits of detection and to reduce the number of samples to be processed and, therefore, errors that may arise. First of all, experiments with labelled standards were conducted in the research area of Montelibretti (rural station, which is sited about 20 km northeast of Rome), with the purpose of optimizing sampling efficiency. Finally, the method was applied to the analysis of these compounds in the air of a suburban area with small industrial plants in order to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed sampling method system, by comparing concentrations of native compounds acquired during simultaneous daily and weekly sampling.