Palladium recovery from monolithic ceramic capacitors by leaching,solvent extraction and reduction

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Palladium finds a remarkable use in electronic devices and catalysts; therefore, an efficient and complete recovery from the containing secondary...     

Determination of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in ambient air by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after molecularly imprinted polymer extraction

A solid phase extraction procedure (SPE) is described for the quantitative analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in atmospheric particulate matter (PM), as ubiquitous environmental pollutants routinely measured in air quality monitoring. A SPE cartridge was used based on a molecular imprinted polymer (MIP-SPE) properly tailored for selective retention of PAHs with 4 and more benzene fused rings. The performance of the clean-up procedure was evaluated with the specific concern of selective purification towards saturated hydrocarbons, which are the PM components mostly interfering GC analysis of target PAHs. Under optimized operative conditions, the MIP-SPE provided analyte recovery close to 95% for heavier PAHs, from benzo(α)pyrene to benzo(ghi)perylene, and close to 90% for four benzene rings PAHs, with good reproducibility (RSDs: 2.5%-5.9%). Otherwise, C₁₇-C₃₂ n-alkanes were nearly completely removed. The proposed method was critically compared with Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) using a polyacrylate fiber. Both methods were successfully applied to the analysis of ambient PM_2.5 samples collected at an urban polluted site. Between the two procedures, the MIP-SPE provided the highest recovery (R% ≥ 93%) for PAHs with 5 and more benzene rings, but lower for lighter PAHs. In contrast, SPME showed a mean acceptable R% value (∼ 80%) for all the investigated PAHs, except for the heaviest PAHs in the most polluted samples (R%: 110%-138%), suggesting an incomplete purification from the interfering n-hydrocarbons.     

Prenatal magnetic resonance imaging detection of temporal lobes and hippocampal anomalies in hypochondroplasia

Hypochondroplasia (HCH) is a genetic skeletal dysplasia, inherited in an autosomal dominant fashion. About 50–70% of HCH patients have a mutation in FGFR3 gene and in the majority of cases it is a de novo mutation. Recent magnetic resonance imaging studies on relative large cohorts of HCH patients have showed a central nervous system involvement with a high incidence of characteristic temporal lobe and hippocampal abnormalities. To the best of our knowledge, this report shows the first magnetic resonance imaging prenatal detection of characteristic brain anomalies in a case of HCH, molecularly confirmed through postnatal FGFR3 analysis. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of volcanic dust in the atmospheric transport and deposition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and mercury

The role of volcanic ash as scavenger of atmospheric pollutants, in their transport and final deposition to the ground is examined. Attention is focused on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and on particulate mercury (Hgp). The ash-fall deposits studied belong to the 2001 and 2002 eruptive activity of Mount Etna, Southern Italy, and were investigated at three (2001) and four (2002) sites downwind of the major tephra dispersal pattern. The dry deposition of mercury and PAHs was determined, and, in particular, a downward flux to the ground of PAHs (approximately 7.29 microg m(-2) per day) and mercury (750 ng m(-2) per day) was estimated in Catania from October 26 to October 28, 2002. Finally, evidence on the anthropogenic origin of PAHs scavenged from the troposphere by volcanic ash is supported by the analysis of PAH compositions in granulometrically homogeneous fractions.     

Energy and resource basis of an Italian coastal resort region integrated using emergy synthesis

Sustainable development of coastal zones must balance economic development that encourages human visitation from a larger population with desires that differ from the local residents with the need to maintain opportunities for the local resident society and conserve ecological capital, which may serve as the basis for residents.We present a case study in which the sustainability level of a coastal zone (Riviera del Beigua), located along the Ligurian coast of north-western Italy, was assessed through the lens of systems ecology using emergy synthesis to integrate across economic, social and environmental sub-systems.Our purposes were (1) to quantify the environmental sustainability level of this coastal zone, (2) to evaluate the role of tourism in affecting the economy, society and environment, and (3) to compare emergy synthesis to Butler's Tourism Area Life Cycle model (TALC). Results showed that 81% of the total emergy consumption in the coastal zone was derived from external sources, indicating that this tourist-heavy community was not sustainable. Tourism, as the dominant economic sub-system, consumed 42% of the total emergy budget, while local residents used the remaining 58%. The progressive stages of the TALC model were found to parallel the dynamic changes in the ratio of external emergy inputs to local emergy inputs, suggesting that emergy synthesis could be a useful tool for detecting a tourist region's TALC stage. Use of such a quantitative tool could expedite sustainability assessment to allow administrative managers to understand the complex relationship between a region's economy, environment and resident society so sound policies can be developed to improve overall sustainability.     

Organic carbon changes in the surface sediments of the Venice lagoon

The concentrations of total, inorganic and organic carbon in the surface sediment of the central part of the Venice lagoon (31-55 stations) during the month of June in 1987, 1993 and 1998 were recorded. In two stations: San Giuliano and Lido, samples were collected on a monthly basis for 1 year also in different periods. On an average, by considering the whole central lagoon, inorganic carbon (IC) and total carbon (TC) did not show significant changes. In contrast organic carbon (OC) had alternating trends showing a decrease from 1987 to 1993, due to the almost complete disappearance of huge macroalgal biomasses, and a marked increase from 1993 to 1998, because of the high sediment disturbance caused by the catching of the clam Tapes philippinarum Adams & Reeve which had colonised the sediment free of macrophytes. The carbon changes monitored in the two stations studied on a seasonal basis during different years not only confirmed such results, but also enhanced the effects of fishing activities at Lido station and those depending on the disappearance of macroalgae at S. Giuliano. Moreover, this paper underlines the importance of seagrass beds. In fact in the areas colonised by those plants the percentage of fine sediments and organic matter is on the increase, while erosive processes are contrasted.     

Place attachment,identification and environment perception: An empirical study

The relationship between people and places is characterized by affective and cognitive dimensions, defined, respectively, as place attachment and identification. This paper aims at clarifying differences between place attachment and identification by (1) identifying their predictors in a structural equation model and (2) exploring their association with the environmental perception. To this purpose, we conducted a research on a sample of 328 residents of a city in the north of Italy. Results show that the affective and the cognitive dimensions (1) are directly predicted by different demographical and psychosocial variables and (2) are strictly associated to the perception of the place and its inhabitants. Place attachment and identification are two distinct but correlated components. Semantic contents related to the environmental perception are described in respect to different levels of attachment and identification.