The indoor environment and its natural dynamics in small Spanish historical churches such as the studied here depend on the variations of outdoor climate and the moisture dynamics of walls, built ...with different materials. Such indoor environments are impacted by local factors, which may put at risk the conservation of a church's cultural assets. Natural ventilation in spring, the presence of people and especially the wintertime use of ageing heating system induce substantial fluctuations in indoor environments primarily affecting the stability of relative humidity (RH). RH is the physical parameter that can induce efflorescence as well as plaster blistering and detachment in its inside walls, drying and cracking in the timber and efflorescence and disgregation in the carved dolostone. Where the RH inside building is not high, as in the present case, natural and induced fluctuations may lower it considerably (<25%), which is detrimental to conservation and human well-being both. Human presence partially counters the steep declines in RH attributable to heating in winter and warm, dry summer weather, although the trade-off is a rise in CO2 levels inside the church. Heating induces substantial changes in the T and RH on the high altar and in the upper areas of the nave, while natural ventilation affects the RH at the base of the church and favours the elimination of CO2. The results obtained have allowed us to develop a series of recommendations that might be useful for the preventive conservation of such historic buildings, without compromising human comfort.
•The indoor environment in rural church depends on outdoor climate and moisture of walls.•The indoor environment is impacted by local factors, which may put at risk the heritage conservation.•Natural ventilation, presence of people and heating system induce fluctuations in indoor environments.•The three factors primarily affect the stability of inside relative humidity which is generally low.•The deterioration caused by these severe fluctuations is important, so its control is necessary for conservation.
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ozonation and solarization techniques for the removal of different types of pesticides from soil during the summer season. The effect of two ...experimental parameters (temperature and ozone application mode) on the pesticide degradation was evaluated. The results showed that solarization (S), solarization with surface ozonation (SOS), and solarization with deep ozonation (SOD) enhanced pesticide degradation rates in comparison with the control (untreated soil, C). The triazole, anilinopyrimidine, strobilurin and neonicotinoid pesticides showed similar behaviour under S and SOS conditions. The highest decrease was found in SOD, indicating the significant effect of temperature and ozone application mode on the efficiency of the ozonation treatment. Thus, a higher soil temperature and a longer accumulated time at high temperature in treatments S, SOS and SOD were observed due to solarization process. In addition, the removal efficiency was enhanced with exposure time. Finally, the main 15 transformation products were identified during SOD treatment. The results suggest that solarization combined with ozonation techniques allows decontamination of soil containing pesticide residues.
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•Combination of solarization and ozonation was tested on pesticides removal in soil.•Degradation studies were conducted at laboratory scale and greenhouse conditions.•The influence of soil temperature and ozone application mode was evaluated.•The highest degradation rates were observed when ozone was applied in deep mode.
An amount of works has reported the effect of wastewater matrix composition on pollutants removal by different AOPs. The biggest challenge is that each wastewater source has a challenging composition ...(organic and inorganic compounds, pollutants, etc.) and not only the concentration of all these species but also the interaction between them may affect the effectiveness of the studied process. This work has been carried out to evaluate the photo-degradation kinetics of six different pesticides (flutriafol, imidacloprid, myclobutanil, pirimicarb, thiamethoxam and triadimenol) by solar photo-Fenton (SPF) process at acidic pH. First, oxidant concentration (H2O2) was optimized with an actual WWTP effluent. Then, the process was validated with two different secondary and tertiary WWTP effluents, in which main intermediate transformation by-products were identified. Finally, the effect of the inorganic water matrix components (bicarbonate, chloride, sulphate, nitrate and phosphate) was evaluated by a multivariate analysis. Once H2O2 has been optimized at 30 mg L−1, the photo-degradation efficiency of pesticides in real wastewater samples was compared. DOC content of both secondary and tertiary WWTP effluents was dropped by 67%. The identification of the main intermediate transformation by-products (such as 1H-1,2,4-triazole, desmethyl-formamido pirimicarb, thiamethoxam urea, chloronicotinic acid and imidacloprid urea) was reviewed. Following, the multivariate analysis on pesticides photo-degradation, generally, predicted four significant effects in common for the studied pesticides: a positive effect (interaction bicarbonate/nitrate) and three negative ones (chloride, phosphate and the interaction chloride/sulphate); among others. In addition, optimum values of inorganic ion concentrations, to obtain an optimum desirability on studied pesticides removal by SPF at acidic pH, were also evaluated.
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•Both secondary and tertiary WWTP effluents showed 67% of DOC reduction.•Main intermediate transformation products showed a formation-elimination profile.•Interaction HCO3−/NO3− showed a positive effect on pesticide removal efficiency.•Negative effect on efficiency was showed by Cl−, PO43− and interaction Cl−/SO42−.•Neonicotinoid pesticides have the same responses to inorganic effects.
•New monitoring strategy for environmental conditions.•Evaluation and control of traditional heating systems.•Thermal comfort and energy efficiency.•Decay assessment in cultural heritage.
Most ...historic churches are characterised by low thermal efficiency due primarily to their architectural design and the traditional materials used in their construction. Heating the huge volumes of air involved may be more or less effective depending on the HVAC system used. Up until very recently, traditional heating has been the system of choice in Spanish churches. The present study analysed the parish church at Talamanca de Jarama (a village on the outskirts of Madrid), where the forced hot-air system was found to induce wide fluctuations in indoor thermal–hygrometric (T/RH) conditions, in turn translating into the temporal and horizontal stratification of temperature and relative humidity. As a result, the thermal comfort sought for parishioners is not reached, for the air remains cold at pew height while heat accumulates in the upper area of the church. A three-dimensional sensor network was designed to monitor these conditions. Suspended from helium balloons, the sensors could record the indoor air temperature and humidity without causing any damage whatsoever to church property.
Soil contamination by pesticides is a growing environmental problem. Even though nowadays numerous soil remediation technologies are available, most of them have not been tested at field scale. This ...study attempts to demonstrate the efficiency of solarization-ozonation techniques for the removal of twelve pesticides at full scale. Initial solarization and ozonation trials were conducted in plots located in a greenhouse using freshly and aged contaminated soils under controlled pilot conditions. The combination of solarization and ozonation treatment was efficient for all the studied pesticides both in freshly and in aged contaminated soils, being the lower degradation values found for the second type. This low removal suggests that the increase of pesticides' adsorption on soil resulting from ageing decreases their availability. Once the essays were carried out at pilot scale, the solarization-ozonation applicability was evaluated in a commercial farm soil. This trial was carried out in a greenhouse whose soil had previously been contaminated with some of the pesticides studied. A significant degradation (53.8%) was observed after 40 days of treatment. Pesticides’ main metabolites were identified during the different remediation experiments. In addition, the cost of the combined solarization and ozonation technology was evaluated. Finally, our results suggest that this combination of techniques could be considered a promising technology to degrade pesticides in soil.
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•Solarization and ozonation was tested for the elimination of 12 pesticides in soil.•Degradation studies were conducted under controlled pilot and field conditions.•The influence of ageing soil was evaluated.•A significant degradation was observed after 40 days of treatment in commercial farm soil.•The main metabolites were identified during remediation treatments.
This paper provides a performance evaluation of tree and mesh routing topologies of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in a cultural heritage site. The historical site selected was San Juan Bautista ...church in Talamanca de Jarama (Madrid, Spain). We report the preliminary analysis required to study the effects of heating in this historical location using WSNs to monitor the temperature and humidity conditions during periods of weeks. To test which routing topology was better for this kind of application, the WSNs were first deployed on the upper floor of the CAEND institute in Arganda del Rey simulating the church deployment, but in the former scenario there was no direct line of sight between the WSN elements. Two parameters were selected to evaluate the performance of the routing topologies of WSNs: the percentage of received messages and the lifetime of the wireless sensor network. To analyze in more detail which topology gave the best performance, other communication parameters were also measured. The tree topology used was the collection tree protocol and the mesh topology was the XMESH provided by MEMSIC (Andover, MA, USA). For the scenarios presented in this paper, it can be concluded that the tree topology lost fewer messages than the mesh topology.
In recent years, increasing quantities of personal care products (PCPs) are being released into the environment. However, data about bioaccumulation and toxicity are scarce; and extraction and ...analytical approaches are not well developed. In this work, the marine clam Ruditapes philippinarum, selected as model organism, has been employed to investigate bioaccumulation, antioxidant enzyme activities and DNA damage due to exposure to TiO2 nanoparticles and bulk TiO2 (inorganic compounds that are frequent components of PCPs, plastics, paints and coatings, foods and disinfectant water treatments). We have also studied the joint effect of both forms of inorganic TiO2 combined with four organic compounds (mixture exposures) commonly used in PCPs: an antimicrobial (triclosan), a fragrance (OTNE) and two UV filters (benzophenone-3 and octocrylene). Bioaccumulation of the inorganic compound, TiO2, was almost immediate and constant over exposure time. With respect to the organic compounds in mixtures, they were mediated by TiO2 and bioaccumulation is driven by reduced size of the particles. In fact, nanoparticles can be considered as a vector to organic compounds, such as triclosan and benzophenone-3. After a week of depuration, TiO2 NPs and TiO2 bulk in clams showed similar levels of concentration. Some organic compounds with bioactivity (Log Kow >3), like OTNE, showed low depuration after one week. The joint action of the organic compound mixture and either of the two forms of TiO2 provoked changes in enzyme activity responses. However, for the mixtures, DNA damage was found only after the depuration period.
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•Exposure to mixed treatments hindered the activity of defensive enzyme systems in digestive gland.•Bioaccumulation is rapid for organic and inorganic PCPs; depuration is slow for inorganic PCPs.•TiO2 NPs act as a “trojan horse” for bioaccumulation of some organic compounds inside clams.
•Long-term wireless sensor monitoring for archaeological sites studies.•Sensors and applications for evaluating the effectiveness of roofing systems.•Outdoor environment and indoor microclimate ...remote monitoring for risk assessment.•Wall hydraulic behaviour in restored and unrestored wall paint.•Preventive action to safeguard heritage elements.
The paper discusses the results of long-term wireless sensor monitoring at Complutum, a Roman archaeological site at Alcalá de Henares in the Spanish province of Madrid, to evaluate the effectiveness of the protection afforded by its steel roof. Parameters such as humidity/moisture, temperature, carbon dioxide, pressure, rainfall and air velocity and direction were analysed at selected points in areas where the walls had been painted to determine whether the roof contributed to preventive conservation. The wireless sensor network deployed was used to remotely monitor the outdoor environment and indoor microclimate as well as conditions inside the walls and underneath the paint, including capillary water rise, microclimate variability and the impact of visitor presence, among others. The effects of the roofing and of restoration on decay were analysed. The study furthers progress in cultural heritage conservation using sensor-based, non-destructive wireless monitoring as grounds for preventive action to safeguard heritage elements of immense value exposed to the weather. The results may have an impact on the social and economic components of national preventive conservation plans.
The candidiasis caused by
is a public health problem. The abuse of antifungals has contributed to the development of resistance.
has demonstrated antibacterial and antifungal activities. In this work ...the activity of the essential oil of
was evaluated and for its two pure compounds with analysis of the different mechanisms of pathogenesis important for
. The essential oil was obtained by the hydro-distillation method and analyzed using GC-MS. The anti-
activity was compared between to essential oil, α-Pinene and γ-Terpinene. GC-MS of the essential oil demonstrated the presence of 13 compounds. The essential oil showed antifungal activity against four
strains. The most sensitive strain was
14065 (MFC 2.0 mg/mL and MIC
0.125 mg/mL) with α-Pinene and γ-Terpinene having MFCs of 4.0 and 16.0 mg/mL respectively. The essential oil inhibited the growth of the germ tube in 87.94% (8.0 mg/mL). Furthermore, it was observed that the essential oil diminishes the transcription of the gene INT1. This work provides evidence that confirms the anti-
activity of the
essential oil and its effect on the growth of the germ tube and transcription of the gene INT1.
The RPB1 mutants in the foot region of RNA polymerase II affect the assembly of the complex by altering the correct association of both the Rpb6 and the Rpb4/7 dimer. Assembly defects alter both ...transcriptional activity as well as the amount of enzyme associated with genes. Here, we show that the global transcriptional analysis of foot mutants reveals the activation of an environmental stress response (ESR), which occurs at a permissive temperature under optimal growth conditions. Our data indicate that the ESR that occurs in foot mutants depends mostly on a global post-transcriptional regulation mechanism which, in turn, depends on Rpb4–mRNA imprinting. Under optimal growth conditions, we propose that Rpb4 serves as a key to globally modulate mRNA stability as well as to coordinate transcription and decay. Overall, our results imply that post-transcriptional regulation plays a major role in controlling the ESR at both the transcription and mRNA decay levels.
•Environmental stress response (ESR) is modulated by post-transcriptional regulation.•RNA pol II assembly defects affect mRNA transcription/decay and induce ESR.•Rpb4 globally modulates mRNA stability and coordinate transcription and decay.
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