Brazilian Amazonia: Industrial development and environmental monitoring

After a critical analysis of the strategies for conservation of the environment in Latin America and of large-scale development projects (agriculture and livestock raising, mining and electrical power plants) in the Amazon region of Brazil, this paper deals with the use of high-resolution satellite imagery for environmental monitoring. Two areas were considered in the study, Tucurui and Altamira. Spot/XS and Landsat/TM multispectral images were used, together with color aerial photographs of these areas. A computer-assisted visual interpretation procedure was employed to analyze images, and linear multispectral transformation was applied in selected subscenes in order to improve information extraction. The results indicate that high-resolution satellite imagery is generally compatible with the scale of the environmental problems in Amazonia and is a very efficient source of detailed information at a local scale on many aspects of the environment, in particular for monitoring changes over time in selected areas. Therefore, commercial satellite imagery, processed by specialized software, can accommodate a variety of analysis needs for decision makers and can also be an effective means of verification of international agreements on conservation of the environment in Amazonia.     

Characterization of atmospheric contaminant sources using adaptive evolutionary algorithms

The characteristics of an unknown source of emissions in the atmosphere are identified using an Adaptive Evolutionary Strategy (AES) methodology based on ground concentration measurements and a Gaussian plume model. The AES methodology selects an initial set of source characteristics including position, size, mass emission rate, and wind direction, from which a forward dispersion simulation is performed. The error between the simulated concentrations from the tentative source and the observed ground measurements is calculated. Then the AES algorithm prescribes the next tentative set of source characteristics. The iteration proceeds towards minimum error, corresponding to convergence towards the real source.The proposed methodology was used to identify the source characteristics of 12 releases from the Prairie Grass field experiment of dispersion, two for each atmospheric stability class, ranging from very unstable to stable atmosphere. The AES algorithm was found to have advantages over a simple canonical ES and a Monte Carlo (MC) method which were used as benchmarks.     

Irrigation of olive groves in Southern Italy with treated municipal wastewater: Effects on microbiological quality of soil and fruits

The use of municipal wastewater in agriculture requires a careful monitoring of a range of hygiene parameters. Yearly hygienic impact assessments on soil and fruit were made between 2000 and 2006 in an olive (Olea europaea L.) grove established near a municipal wastewater treatment plant in Southern Italy (Ferrandina–Basilicata region, 40°29′ N, 16°28′ E). The experimental grove was managed in two plots. The first plot, non-tilled, was drip irrigated daily with reclaimed wastewater. The second plot was unirrigated (i.e. rainfed) and subject to conventional management for the region. Samples of wetted soil from different depths and of treated wastewater were analysed for Escherichia coli, enterococci, sulphite-reducing Clostridium spores and Salmonella spp. Fruits were collected both from the canopy and from nets spread on the ground and analysed for faecal contamination. The average annual quantity of wastewater distributed was 293 mm. E. coli concentration in the wastewater varied considerably, being frequently above the stringent Italian mandatory limit of 10 CFU 100 mL^?1 and also the WHO limit of 1000 MPN 100 mL^?1. Salmonella was never detected in the wastewater, the soil or on the fruit samples. Slight increases in the other bacteria were observed in the wastewater-irrigated soil during the irrigation season and especially in the top 10 cm. Soil resilience and bacterial mortality/inactivation probably explains the seasonal decrease of soil bacteria content over the 7 years of the study. Because of their high resistance to disinfection treatments and to environmental conditions, the spores of the sulphite-reducing bacterium Clostridium could be useful as an indicator of contamination in future guidelines that might be enacted for the use of wastewater in agriculture. No significant microbial contamination was recorded on fruit harvested directly from the canopy of the wastewater-irrigated trees. Contaminations on fruits sampled from the ground in the wastewater-irrigated plot were always low and usually similar to, or lower than those observed on drupes collected from the rainfed plot. In the rainfed plot, the recorded occasional contaminations were probably due to a number of factors, such as grazing of farm stock, presence of wild animals and surface water runoff from adjacent agricultural areas. This work confirms that, under suitable conditions, low-quality wastewater can be useful as an additional water resource for olive irrigation in water-scarce Mediterranean environments.     

Approaches to semi-synthetic minimal cells: a review

Following is a synthetic review on the minimal living cell, defined as an artificial or a semi-artificial cell having the minimal and sufficient number of components to be considered alive. We describe concepts and experiments based on these constructions, and we point out that an operational definition of minimal cell does not define a single species, but rather a broad family of interrelated cell-like structures. The relevance of these researches, considering that the minimal cell should also correspond to the early simple cell in the origin of life and early evolution, is also explained. In addition, we present detailed data in relation to minimal genome, with observations cited by several authors who agree on setting the theoretical full-fledged minimal genome to a figure between 200 and 300 genes. However, further theoretical assumptions may significantly reduce this number (i.e. by eliminating ribosomal proteins and by limiting DNA and RNA polymerases to only a few, less specific molecular species). Generally, the experimental approach to minimal cells consists in utilizing liposomes as cell models and in filling them with genes/enzymes corresponding to minimal cellular functions. To date, a few research groups have successfully induced the expression of single proteins, such as the green fluorescence protein, inside liposomes. Here, different approaches are described and compared. Present constructs are still rather far from the minimal cell, and experimental as well as theoretical difficulties opposing further reduction of complexity are discussed. While most of these minimal cell constructions may represent relatively poor imitations of a modern full-fledged cell, further studies will begin precisely from these constructs. In conclusion, we give a brief outline of the next possible steps on the road map to the minimal cell.

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Gamma-ray activity in the volcanic islands of the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea

Field gamma-ray spectrometry was used for the quantitative assessment of U, Th and K of rocks of Stromboli, Salina, Filicuidi and Panarea (Aeolian arc of the Southern Tyrrhenian, Italy). The air absorbed dose rate was calculated from radioelement concentrations. For some rocks the gamma-ray spectra were analysed with the three photo-peak methods and the response matrix method, which converts the pulse height distribution into the true incident gamma-ray energy spectrum. The higher values of U (8.2-9.8 ppm) coincide with higher Th (20.6-27.8 ppm) concentrations associated with rocks of shoshonitic composition. The spatial variation in radioelement concentration reflects the geochemical differences among the rocks. The air absorbed dose rate varies from 25 to 215 nGy h(-1). The highest values correspond to outcrops located in the eastern part of Stromboli, where the annual effective dose equivalent reaches a value of 264 microSv.     

Estimates of the economic damage due to the soiling of residential buildings induced by air pollution in Italy

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The soiling of the external façades of buildings caused by air pollution has economic costs that are generally not borne entirely by the...