A multidisciplinary study on the effects of climate change in the northern Adriatic Sea and the Marche region (central Italy)

An integrated analysis of recent climate change (including atmosphere, sea and land), and social reaction and adaptation, was conducted in central Italy and the northern portion of the Adriatic Sea. The collected environmental data included meteorological, oceanographic, and river gauges stations, covering the time period 1961–2009. Social data included 800 questionnaires and interviews carried out on selected samples of residents, decision-makers, and emergency managers. The trend analysis of air temperature data detailed an overall increase in all seasons, whereas rainfall data showed decrease in winter, spring, and summer, and increase in autumn, influencing river flow changes. Marine data showed a warming of the water column after the year 1990, particularly relevant in the cold season. Surface salinity increased in spring and summer and strongly decreased in autumn and also in winter (due to the spreading over the basin of the increased autumnal river runoff). These changes, combined with anthropogenic effects, appear to influence the northern Adriatic marine environment and ecosystems. Impacts in the coastal areas are also evident inland; the analysis of Aridity index, and potential water deficit, suggests negative impacts in terms of soil deterioration and agricultural productivity, particularly in the area near the coastline. At the same time, the analysis of social data revealed awareness among local residents of these impacts and associated risks connected to climate change. Yet, this awareness is not currently translated into preventive and protective actions; among the main reasons for this delay is also ineffective information exchange among citizens, public administrators, and the scientific community.     

Biotreatment strategies for the removal of microplastics from freshwater systems. A review

Environmental Chemistry Letters - Research on plastic pollution has recently evidenced the ubiquitous presence of tiny plastic particles called microplastics. Microplastics alter organisms because...     

Habitat mapping using machine learning-extended kernel-based reclassification of an Ikonos satellite image

The spatial resolution of satellite imagery suitable for earth resources studies has improved from 80 m (Landsat-MSS, launched in 1972) to 0.6 m (QuickBird, launched in 2001). The conventional pixel-based methods developed for medium resolution satellite images are not suitable for classification of very high spatial resolution images, because the spectral responses of particular habitat classes are much more variable. On the other hand, in the original Barnsley–Barr kernel-based reclassification algorithm not only the spectral information of a pixel but also the textural information in the vicinity of the pixel is used when the pixel labeling decision is made. The first step of the kernel reclassification algorithm is to perform an initial classification of the original image. In the second step, the adjacency-event matrices are computed for each pixel according to co-occurrence frequencies of the initial classes in the kernel window. The degree of matching between an adjacency-event matrix corresponding to specific pixel and the set of class-specific template matrices produced during training is the criterion for pixel re-labeling. We extend the original kernel-based reclassification algorithm with a decision tree-based reclassification, simultaneously taking into account the class-specific similarity images, which are a side-product of the original algorithm. The advantage of decision tree-extended approach over the original approach seems to be the ability of the former to consider more input information, thus increasing the Kappa classification accuracy for an Ikonos image of our study area from 0.56 to 0.60, using a nomenclature containing 10 habitat classes.     

Microhabitat selection in the simple oribatid community dwelling in epilithic moss cover (Acari: Oribatida)

The moss cover of a roof was studied as the model of a simple habitat divided into microhabitats by the members of a community of saprophagous mites. This community consisted of two species of oribatid mites: Scutovertex minutus and Trichoribates trimaculatus. They were extracted from moss onto moist paper, and subsequently, their mobility, responses to moisture fluctuation, and food selection were tested in laboratory experiments. For the nutritional biology, the microanatomy of their alimentary tract was examined according to the system of histological characteristics formulated in the laboratory of the author (type of food, digestive activity of gut walls, etc.). The paraplast sections of the mites were stained by Masson triple stain for these purposes. Moreover, the enzymological tests (chitinase and cellulase activities) were performed to detail the digestive processes. Such an approach was applied to field-sampled specimens as well as to those in the laboratory experiments. These above-mentioned data were discussed with respect to microhabitat selection, vertical and horizontal distribution, and dispersal ability of these two oribatid mites sharing this habitat. These two species differ in several characteristics from each other and these differences resulted in their different microhabitat choices and role in the habitat as a whole.     

Distribution and fractionation of heavy metals in the Tisa (Tisza) River sediments

Introduction In this work, sediments of the River Tisa (Tisza) are studied to assess their environmental pollution levels for some major heavy metals, as well as to predict the investigated elements’ mobility on the basis of their association type with the substrate. The Tisa River catchments area is a subbasin of the River Danube. Part of this river, 166 km long, belongs to the Serbian province of Vojvodina, before it flows into the Danube. It has been chosen for our investigation, because it has been exposed to intense pollution in the last decades. Materials and Methods The river sediment samples were collected at 32 locations. The proportions of sand, silt and clay fractions were determined. The sequential extraction procedure following a modified Tessier method was applied for speciation of the metal forms in the collected samples. The metal concentrations of Zn, Cd, Pb, Ni, Cu, Cr, Fe and Mn in extracts were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Results and Discussion Granulometric analysis showed that some 50% of the Tisa River sediments were silt and clay, while the rest was sand with quartz, as the main constituent. The average metal content of the surface river sediment samples for every fraction of sequential extraction was presented and discussed in relation to pH, Eh and metal fractionation. The average metal content from the Tisa River sediments, obtained as an average of the metal’s concentration released in all five sequential extraction fractions was compared with: average metal contents of the Tisa River sediments in Hungary, metal content in soils formed on the Tisa River alluvium of Vojvodina, average metal content in soils of Vojvodina, and average metal content in soils of Hungary. An assessment of metal pollution levels in Tisa River sediments was made by comparing mean values for obtained results for the Tisa River sediments with the freshwater sediment’s Quality Guidelines as published by US EPA, Environment Canada and soil standards for Serbia. Conclusion According to US EPA and Canadian Quality Guidelines for freshwater sediments, the concentration of heavy metals in Tisa sediments were: (a) much higher than defined concentrations below which harmful effects on river biota are unlikely to be observed, (b) below defined concentrations above which harmful effects on river biota are likely to be observed. The concentration levels of Pb, Ni, Cu and Cr in Tisa River sediments are safe when compared with Serbian MAQ (Maximum Allowed Quantity) standards for soils, but they are unsafe in the case of Zn and Cd. Recommendations and Outlook The quality of sediments in the Tisa River was on the border line between potentially polluted and polluted. This line could very easily be exceeded since the quality of sediments in the Tisa River in Hungary was already worse than in Serbia. These results indicated the need for further monitoring of heavy metals in that locality.     

Environmental study of two significant solid samples: gravitation dust sediment and soil

In this work are presented results of the complex study of two significant solid environmental samples: gravitation dust sediments (industrial pollutants, potential source of risk elements input to soils) and soils (component of the environment, potential source of risk elements input to food web). The first phase of this study was focused on the study of the significant chemical properties (phase composition, content of organic and inorganic carbon) of the dust and soil samples. In the second phase, the fractionation analysis was used on the evaluation of the mobility of chosen risk elements (Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn) in the studied samples. The single-step extractions were applied in the order of the isolation of the element forms (fractions), with different mobilities during defined ecological conditions by utilization of the following reagents: 1 mol dm^− 3 NH₄NO₃ for isolation of the “mobile” fraction, 0.05 mol dm^− 3 ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid and 0.43 mol dm^− 3 CH₃COOH for isolation of the “mobilizable” fraction, and 2 mol dm^− 3 HNO₃ for isolation of all releasable forms. On the basis of the results obtained in this study, it is possible to state that different origins and positions of solid environmental samples in the environment reflect in different chemical properties of their matrix. The different properties of the sample matrix result in different mobilities of risk elements in these kinds of samples. The fractionation analysis with single-step extraction for isolation element fractions is the method most suitable for easy checking of environmental pollution and for evaluation of risk elements cycle in the environment.     

Time-resolved measurements of aerosol elemental concentrations in indoor working environments

We have measured the elemental concentrations in aerosols with a 2-h time resolution in two different types of working environment: a chemistry laboratory dealing with the processing of advanced nanoparticulate materials and a medium-sized machine workshop. Non-stop 10-day and 12-day samplings were performed at each location in order to determine the concentration trends during the non-working/working and weekday/weekend periods. Supplementary measurements of PM10 aerosols with a 2-day sample collection time were performed with a standard Gent PM10 sampler to compare the elemental concentrations with the time-averaged concentrations detected by the 2D step-sampler. The concentrations were determined a posteriori by analyzing the x-ray spectra of aerosol samples emitted after 3-MeV proton bombardment. The PM10 samples collected in the chemistry laboratory were additionally inspected by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) to determine the chemical compositions of the individual particles. In the workshop, a total PM10 mass sampling was performed simultaneously with a minute resolution to compare the signal with typical outdoor PM10 concentration levels. A factor analysis of the time-resolved dataset points to six and eight factors in the chemistry laboratory and the machine workshop, respectively. These factors describe most of the data variance, and their composition in terms of different elements can be related to specific indoor activities and conditions. We were able to demonstrate that the elemental concentration sampling with hourly resolution is an excellent tool for studying the indoor air pollution. While sampling the total PM10 mass concentration with a minute resolution may lack the potential to identify the emission sources in a “noisy” environment, the time averaging on a day time scale is too coarse to cope with the working dynamics, even if elemental sensitivity is an option.     

Evaluating Green Productivity Gains with the Exponential By-Production Technology: an Analysis of the Chinese Industrial Sector

Environmental Modeling & Assessment - The conventional convexity assumptions frequently placed on piecewise linear frontiers of production technologies modeled using data envelopment analysis...     

Chemistry of the sternal gland secretion of the Mediterranean centipede Himantarium gabrielis (Linnaeus, 1767) (Chilopoda: Geophilomorpha: Himantariidae)

The Science of Nature - The geophilomorph centipede, Himantarium gabrielis, when disturbed, discharges a viscous and proteinaceous secretion from the sternal glands. This exudate was found by gas...     

Currarino triad: concurrent US and MRI diagnosis in the fetus and the mother

We report an unusual case of the complete Currarino triad diagnosed in a fetus at 21 weeks' gestation by means of prenatal ultrasonography (US). The highly suspicious findings in the fetus were accompanied by analogous US findings in the mother who suffered from mild symptoms of up to that time unrecognized Currarino triad. Consecutively, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirmed the findings simultaneously in the fetus and in her mother. This is the first report describing the prenatal diagnosis of Currarino triad without the background of positive family history. To our knowledge, the prenatal MRI findings of Currarino triad have not yet been published. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.