The excitation spectrum of a cigar-shaped strongly dipolar quantum gas at the crossover from a Bose-Einstein condensate to a trapped macrodroplet is predicted to exhibit peculiar features-a strong ...upward shift of low momentum excitation energies together with a strong multiband response for high momenta. By performing Bragg spectroscopy over a wide range of momenta, we observe both key elements and also confirm the predicted stiffening of excitation modes when approaching the macrodroplet regime. Our measurements are in good agreement with numerical calculations taking into account finite size effects.
Imazethapyr, a post-emergent herbicide used in worldwide soybean and corn crops, induces genetic and biochemical alterations in aquatic vertebrates. This study examined the relationship between ...biomarkers at different organization levels and imazethapyr real-life route exposure in
Boana pulchella
adults. Frogs were exposed to imazethapyr-based formulation Pivot
®
H (10.59%) at concentrations representing possible acute routes: field runoff (S1:10 mg.L
−1
), exposure after direct foliar application (S2:100 mg.L
−1
) and during direct foliar application (S3:1000 mg.L
−1
). Post-exposure, endpoints levels were evaluated: organism alterations, biochemical activities and cytogenetic assays. Forty-eight hours post-exposure, antioxidant enzymes decrease, micronuclei induction and DNA damage were observed in all scenarios, while cholinesterase activity increase and body condition reduction were observed in frog-exposed to S3. Ninety-six hours post-exposure, frogs showed glutathione-S-transferase inhibition in S1, micronuclei induction in S2 and S3, and DNA-damage increase in S3. Herbicides routes of exposures in real-life could indicate that authorized applications have a risk to amphibian populations.
In 1981, Weinsier and Krumdieck described death resulting from overzealous total parenteral nutrition in two chronically malnourished, but stable, patients given aggressive total parenteral ...nutrition. This was the birth of what is now called the refeeding syndrome, a nutrition-related disorder associated with severe electrolyte disturbances. The purpose of this work is to demonstrate that refeeding syndrome was first described medically in Florence by Antonio Benivieni in 1507 in his book On Some Hidden and Remarkable Causes of Diseases and Cures. What we now know as refeeding syndrome was described in Report No. LVII of that book. The condition occurred as a result of the famine that affected Florence in 1496. The report documents (i) death due to starvation, (ii) death due to ingestion of deteriorated/toxic foods (inevitable in times of famine when healthy food is scarce), (iii) death caused by excessive food ingestion after forced, prolonged abstinence from food in adults, (iv) the death of breast-fed children and of their starved mothers eating to satiety and (v) the more favourable clinical outcome of those admitted to hospitals. It is possible that Benivieni was inspired by the description of the deaths of starved deserters in the book The Jewish War (70 AD) by the Romano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus. Nevertheless, Benivieni wrote the first medical account of the central clinical features of refeeding syndrome. The main, broad clinical aspects of refeeding syndrome, described by Weinsier and Krumdieck in 1981, had been documented in medical literature four centuries earlier by Benivieni.
Electroless nickel and copper metallization of 3D printed polymers like polylactic acid and polyethylene terephthalate glycol modified is presented. The plating process is tested on suitable samples, ...which reproduce the characteristic morphologies used in 3D printing of objects. An alkaline etching is used for both polymers in order to modify the surface properties and to enhance the adhesion and uniformity of the metallic coating. In the case of polylactic acid, a plasma treatment is applied as well to further improve adhesion of the metallic coating. For the activation of the surface, a tin free process involving an immersion in a palladium solution and subsequent reduction to form metallic nuclei is employed. Electrolytes are formulated and selected to operate in temperature ranges comparable with the glass transition temperatures of the polymers. Adherent and uniform layers of NiP (3-4% P wt) and Cu can be easily obtained for esthetic and functional applications, also on flexible substrates.
The presence of pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) in surface water is well known, whereas their natural occurrence in biota is much less explored. The aim of this work was to evaluate the ...bioaccumulation of PhACs in adult toads of the neotropical species Rhinella arenarum. Three sites were selected in Buenos Aires (Argentina): a reference site (Site 1), a site with direct discharge from a secondary wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) (Site 2) and a site 300 m downstream of the WWTP discharge (Site 3). Surface water samples, as well as muscle, liver and fat bodies of toads were collected, extracted and analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Highly significant differences in total PhACs concentration in surface water (p < 0.005) were detected between Site 2 and the other sites. These concentrations ranged from 0.37 to 52.46 ng/L at Site 1, 0.71–6950.37 ng/L at Site 2, and 0.12–75.45 ng/L at Site 3. In general, bioaccumulation of PhACs in toad tissues was similar between sites and tissues of each site. The highest concentrations were detected in the muscle of toads from Site 3 (1.06–87.24 ng/g dw), followed by liver (1.77–38.10 ng/g dw) and fat bodies (0.68–20.59 ng/g dw) from Site 1. Ibuprofen (6950 ng/L), acetaminophen (3277 ng/L) and valsartan (2504 ng/L) were the compounds with the highest concentrations in surface water from Site 2, whereas acetaminophen (87.2 ng/g dw, muscle from Site 3), desloratadine (38.1 ng/g dw, liver from Site 1), and phenazone (25.9 ng/g dw, liver from Site 1) were the ones that showed the highest concentrations in biota. This is the first time a field study has examined the environmental bioaccumulation of PhACs in anurans, demonstrating their potential for monitoring the status of natural ecosystems.
Display omitted
•Analgesics/anti-inflammatories showed the highest concentrations.•Antibiotics showed the highest frequencies of detection.•Twenty pharmaceuticals detected for the first time in surface water from Argentina.•Nearly thirty pharmaceuticals detected for the first time in adult anurans.•First field study to evaluate the bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals in toads.
Since Roman time, the heat produced by Neapolitan volcanoes was an appeal for people living in and outside the area, for the fruition of the famous thermal baths. This very large area, which spans ...from Campi Flegrei and Ischia calderas to Somma-Vesuvius volcano, is characterized by high temperature at shallow depth and intense heat flow, and is yet utilized for the bathing and spa treatment industry, while only in the middle of the 20th century a tentative of geothermal exploitation for energy production was performed. Pioneering researches of geothermal resource were carried out in Campanian region since 1930, until 1985, during which a large amount of geological data were collected. In this paper, we make for the first time a review of the history of geothermal explorations in the active Campanian volcanic area. By the analysis of a great amount of literature data and technical reports we reconstruct the chronology and the main information of the drillings performed since 1930 by the SAFEN Company and successively in the framework of the ENEL-AGIP Joint Venture for geothermal exploration. The available data are utilized to correlate the temperatures measured within the deeper wells with the possible sources of geothermal heat in the shallow crust, down to about 8–10
km of depth. Finally, we assess the geothermal potential of the hottest areas, Ischia Island and Campi Flegrei, which have shown the best data and favorable physical conditions for a reliable, and cost-effective, exploitation for thermal and electric purposes.
In this paper we analyze the main available data related to the geothermal system of Ischia Island, starting from the first geothermal exploration in 1939. Our aim is to define a conceptual model of ...the geothermal reservoir, according to geological, geochemical, geophysical and stratigraphic data. In recent times, the interest on geothermal exploitation for electricity generation in Italy is rapidly increasing and the Ischia Island is one of the main targets for future geothermal exploitation. Nowadays, one of the main economic resources of the island is the tourism, mainly driven by the famous thermal springs; so, it is crucial to study the possible interaction between geothermal exploitation and thermal spring activities. To this aim, we also analyze the possible disturbance on temperature and pressure in the shallow geothermal reservoir, due to the heat withdrawal for electric production related to small power plant size (1–5 MWe). Such analysis has been performed by using numerical simulations based on a well known thermofluid-dynamical code (TOUGH2®). Obtained results show that such geothermal exploitation generates a perturbation of temperature and pressure field which, however, is confined in a small volume around the well. At shallow level (0–100m) the exploitation does not produce any appreciable disturbance, and can be made compatible with thermal spring exploitation. Moreover, such results are crucial both for the evaluation of volcanological processes in the island and for the general assessment of geothermal resource sustainability.
The Campi Flegrei caldera in southern Italy is one of the greatest geohazard areas on Earth. Evidence of an active magmatic and geothermal system is provided by ongoing ground uplift, with ...volcano-tectonic and long-period (LP) seismicity, the persistent degassing of ~1500 tonnes of CO
2
per day, the presence of hot fumaroles at temperatures of 90–150 °C, brine-rich aquifers (with total dissolved solids up to 33 g l
−1
) and high thermal gradients in the crust (with temperatures reaching 420 °C at 3,050 m b.s.l.). Since the 1940s, more than 100 exploratory boreholes have been drilled in the area to depths of 80–3,100 m by the Azienda Geologica Italiana Petroli (AGIP) and the Società Anonima Forze Endogene Napoletane (SAFEN). To date, however, no systematic reanalysis of the drilling data has been carried out, and the buried volcanic structure has not been updated using the most recent scientific results and previous findings. By integrating unpublished data from the AGIP and SAFEN reports with published information from geological, volcanological, petrological, petrophysical and geophysical studies, this paper presents an improved picture of the Campi Flegrei caldera that will be useful for volcanic hazard assessment and mitigation in the Naples area and for future research planning. The results suggest that intra-caldera activity has been influenced by how the magmatic system at depths greater than about 4 km has determined the transfer of magma, volatiles, and heat to the overlying geothermal system and, ultimately, to the surface. In particular, intriguing is that the most volcanically active central-eastern sector of the caldera, which is subject to intense bradyseismic ground movement and gas emission, coincides with a structurally delimited subsurface rock volume characterized by an uprising of the 100 °C isotherm, a deep water supply to the shallower aquifer, the early disappearance of secondary calcite, LP seismicity and high seismic S-wave attenuation. In this area, we also document evidence of repeated injection at depths of c. 1.5–3.0 km of isolated and small-volume batches of magma, where occurred their crystallization and degassing. Shallow intrusions and degassing of magma are thus identified as two of the key processes that drive unrest in Campi Flegrei.
PDF
