Traffic is the main source of platinum-group element (PGE) contamination in populated urban areas. There is increasing concern about the hazardous effects of these new pollutants for people and for ...other living organisms in these areas. Airborne and road dusts, as well as tree bark and grass samples were collected at locations in the European cities of Göteborg (Sweden), Madrid (Spain), Rome (Italy), Munich (Germany), Sheffield and London (UK). Today, in spite of the large number of parameters that can influence the airborne PGE content, the results obtained so far indicate significantly higher PGE levels at traffic sites compared with the rural or non-polluted zones that have been investigated (background levels). The average Pt content in airborne particles found in downtown Madrid, Göteborg and Rome is in the range 7.3–13.1 pg m
−3. The ring roads of these cities have values in the range 4.1–17.7 pg m
−3. In Munich, a lower Pt content was found in airborne particles (4.1 pg m
−3). The same tendency has been noted for downtown Rh, with contents in the range 2.2–2.8 pg m
−3, and in the range 0.8–3.0 and 0.3 pg m
−3 for motorway margins in Munich. The combined results obtained using a wide-range airborne classifier (WRAC) collector and a PM-10 or virtual impactor show that Pt is associated with particles for a wide range of diameters. The smaller the particle size, the lower the Pt concentration. However, in particles <PM-10, some of the highest values correspond to the fraction <0.39 μm. Considering an average Pt content in all particles of approximately 15 pg m
−3, which is representative for all countries and environmental conditions, the tracheobronchial fraction represents approximately 10% and the alveolar fraction approximately 8% of the total particles suspended in air. However, from the environmental risk point of view, an exposure to PGEs in traffic-related ambient air is at least three orders of magnitude below the levels for which adverse health effects might theoretically occur (of approx. 100 ng m
−3). Therefore, today inhalation exposure to PGEs from automotive catalysts does not seem to pose a direct health risk to the general population. Even though the data available today indicate no obvious health effects, there are still a number of aspects related to PGEs and catalysts that justify further research. First, continual monitoring of changes in PGE levels in air and road dust is warranted, to make sure that there is no dramatic increase from today's levels. Secondly, more detailed information on the chemical composition of the PGE-containing substances or complexes leaving the catalyst surface and the size distribution of the PGE-containing particles released during driving will facilitate a more in-depth human risk assessment.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Skin-lightening products are increasingly common in European cities. These products may contain substances that are banned under EU regulations as they can induce adverse effects, including cutaneous ...and systemic reactions (e.g., mercury, hydroquinone and topical corticosteroids).
To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of women regarding skin-lightening products and to quantify the potentially harmful substances in the products used.
We performed a cross-sectional study among 82 non-Italian women visiting an outpatient facility in Rome, Italy. The women completed a questionnaire on product use, side effects and risk awareness. We performed patch tests among a subgroup of 48 women who presented with contact dermatitis. We also quantified the allergenic and toxic substances in the 14 products reported, using dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for metals and high-performance liquid chromatography for hydroquinone and topical corticosteroids.
Out of the 82 women, 33 used skin-lightening products; about one fourth of these women were aware of potential risks. Three cosmetic creams and two soaps contained high concentrations of metals (Cr, Ni and Pb); hydroquinone was found in three creams and one oil. The only topical corticosteroid detected was dexamethasone, in one product. More than half of the women in the clinical evaluation had irritant contact dermatitis (i.e., negative response to patch test).
Among immigrant women in Rome, the use of skin-lightening products seems to be fairly common, and some of these products contain potentially hazardous substances. Consumers must be informed of the potential risks, and EU regulations must be more strictly enforced.
The grey wolf (Canis lupus) and coyote (C. latrans) are highly mobile carnivores that disperse over great distances in search of territories and mates. Previous genetic studies have shown little ...geographical structure in either species. However, population genetic structure is also influenced by past isolation events and population fluctuations during glacial periods. In this study, control region sequence data from a worldwide sample of grey wolves and a more limited sample of coyotes were analysed. The results suggest that fluctuating population sizes during the late Pleistocene have left a genetic signature on levels of variation in both species. Genealogical measures of nucleotide diversity suggest that historical population sizes were much larger in both species and grey wolves were more numerous than coyotes. Currently, about 300 000 wolves and 7 million coyotes exist. In grey wolves, genetic diversity is greater than that predicted from census population size, reflecting recent historical population declines. By contrast, nucleotide diversity in coyotes is smaller than that predicted by census population size, reflecting a recent population expansion following the extirpation of wolves from much of North America. Both species show little partitioning of haplotypes on continental or regional scales. However, a statistical parsimony analysis indicates local genetic structure that suggests recent restricted gene flow.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The Muon Spectrometer of the ATLAS experiment is made of large toroidal magnets, arrays of high-pressure drift tubes for precise tracking and dedicated fast detectors for the first-level trigger. All ...the detectors in the barrel toroid have been installed and commissioning has started with cosmic rays. These detectors are arranged in three concentric rings and the total area is about 6000 square meters. During the installation and commissioning of the detectors, data are usually taken with the magnet off, but a dedicated run took place with the magnetic field of the barrel toroid turned on. We present the procedure to control the response of the single detectors installed in the barrel toroid, Monitored Drift Tubes and Resistive Plate Chambers, and results of the first tests done with cosmic rays triggered by the first-level processor and read-out trough the ATLAS data acquisition. Details on the installation and commissioning schedule will be given in view of the completion of the instrumentation of the muon spectrometer for the first period of data taking with proton-proton collisions.
The goal of the CYGNO project is to deploy at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) an high resolution Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) amplification and ...optical 3D readout of an Helium/Fluorine based gas mixture for directional Dark Matter (DM) searches at low 1-10 GeV WIMP masses. The determination of the incoming direction of WIMP particles can in fact offer not only additional handles for discrimination of the annoying backgrounds, but especially an unique key for a positive, unambiguous identification of a DM signal.
A quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (Q-ICP-MS) equipped with a dynamic reaction cell (DRC) and coupled with a desolvating nebulization system (APEX-IR) was employed to determine ...17 elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, V, and Zr) in blood samples. Ammonia (for Al, Cr, Mn, and V) and O
2 (for As and Se) were used as reacting gases. Selection of the best flow rate of the gases and optimization of the quadrupole dynamic bandpass tuning parameter (RP
q) were carried out, using digested blood diluted 1
+
9 with deionized water and spiked with 1
μg
L
−1 of Al, Cr, Mn, V and 5
μg
L
−1 of As and Se. Detection limits were determined in digested blood using the 3
σ criterion. The desolvating system allowed a sufficient sensitivity to be achieved to determine elements at levels of ng
L
−1 without detriment of signal stability. The accuracy of the method was tested with the whole blood certified reference material (CRM), certified for Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, and V, and with indicative values for Ba, Li, Sn, Sr, and Zr. The addition calibration approach was chosen for analysis. In order to confirm the DRC data, samples were also analyzed by means of sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS), operating in medium (
m/Δ
m
=
4000) and high (
m/Δ
m
=
10,000) resolution mode and achieving a good agreement between the two techniques.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The diagnostic investigations are an important resource in the studies on Cultural Heritage to enhance the knowledge on execution techniques, materials and conservation status of a work of art. In ...this field, due to the great historical and artistic value of the objects, preservation is the main concern; for this reason, new technological equipment has been designed and developed in the Physics Departments of the Universities of Ferrara and Bologna to enhance the non-invasive approach to the study of pictorial artworks and other objects of cultural interest. Infrared (IR) reflectography, X-ray radiography and computed tomography (CT), applied to works of art, are joined by the same goal: to get hidden information on execution techniques and inner structure pursuing the non-invasiveness of the methods, although using different setup and physical principles. In this work transportable imaging systems to investigate large objects in museums and galleries are presented. In particular, 2D scanning devices for IR reflectography and X-ray radiography, CT systems and some applications to the Cultural Heritage are described.
The present study first examined whether ruin lizards Podarcis sicula are able to orientate using the e-vector direction of polarized light. Ruin lizards were trained and tested indoors, inside a ...hexagonal Morris water maze, positioned under an artificial light source producing plane polarized light with a single e-vector, which provided an axial cue. Lizards were subjected to axial training by positioning two identical goals in contact with the centre of two opposite side walls of the Morris water maze. Goals were invisible because they were placed just beneath the water surface, and water was rendered opaque. The results showed that the directional choices of lizards meeting learning criteria were bimodally distributed along the training axis, and that after 90 deg rotation of the e-vector direction of polarized light the lizards directional choices rotated correspondingly, producing a bimodal distribution which was perpendicular to the training axis. The present results confirm in ruin lizards results previously obtained in other lizard species showing that these reptiles can use the e-vector direction of polarized light in the form of a sky polarization compass. The second step of the study aimed at answering the still open question of whether functioning of a sky polarization compass would be mediated by the lizard parietal eye. To test this, ruin lizards meeting learning criteria were tested inside the Morris water maze under polarized light after their parietal eyes were painted black. Lizards with black-painted parietal eyes were completely disoriented. Thus, the present data show for the first time that the parietal eye plays a central role in mediating the functioning of a putative sky polarization compass of lizards.
In the NA62 experiment at CERN-SPS the communication between detectors and the Lowest Level (L0) trigger processor is performed via Ethernet packets, using the UDP protocol. The L0 Trigger Processor ...handles the signals from sub-detectors that take part to the trigger generation. In order to choose the best solution for its realization, two different approaches have been implemented. The first approach is fully based on a FPGA device while the second one joins an off-the-shelf PC to the FPGA. The performance of the two systems will be discussed and compared.
To assess whether levels of trace metals and oxidative species are involved in Parkinson's disease (PD), Al, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb and V were measured in urine, serum, blood and ...cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum peroxides and antioxidant capacity were determined in 26 patients with PD and 13 control subjects. The quantification of metals was based on the 1+4 water dilution of CSF, serum and urine, the acid-assisted microwave digestion under atmospheric pressure of blood and final determination by sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS). Results indicated a significant increase of Pb and V concentrations in blood and urine (
P≤0.03, in both cases) related to the disease. Parkinson disease also seemed to be closely associated (
P≤0.003) with a reduction in levels of Al, Cd, Hg and Pb in serum and of Cd, Co, Cr, Hg, Pb in CSF. As regards Mn, a lower mean concentration was found in the CSF and whole blood of PD patients than in control group, although this trend was not statistically significant. Levels of peroxides were also increased (
P≤0.001), while antioxidant capacity was lower (
P≤0.002) in PD patients than in controls.
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