Display omitted
•Average microplastic contamination in benthic invertebrates was of 1.0 items individual−1 or 0.7 items mg−1 dw.•Microplastic prevalent size ranges were between 50 and 100 μm.•The ...microplastic particles were mainly composed of nylon and polyethylene polymers.•The microplastic content was not higher in predators.•Bivalves displayed the highest microplastic contamination.
Microplastic contamination of the benthic invertebrate fauna in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica) was determined. Twelve macrobenthic species, characterized by different feeding strategies, were selected at 3 sampling sites at increasing distance from the Italian Scientific Base (Mario Zucchelli, Camp Icarus, Adelie Cove). The 83% of the analyzed macrobenthic species contained microplastics (0.01–3.29 items mg−1). The size of the particles, measured by Feret diameter, ranged from 33 to 1000 µm with the highest relative abundance between 50 and 100 µm. Filter-feeders and grazers displayed values of microplastic contamination from 3 to 5 times higher than omnivores and predators, leading to the hypothesis that there is no evident bioaccumulation through the food web. The prevalent polymers identified by micro-FTIR were nylon (86%) and polyethylene (5%); other polymers identified in Antarctic benthos were polytetrafluoroethylene, polyoxymethylene, phenolic resin, polypropylene, polystyrene resin and XT polymer.
We assessed the presence and concentration of microplastics in fishes from the Northern Adriatic Sea on sale for human consumption. Microplastics were extracted from the digestive tract of 180 ...specimens, belonging to 6 different species (2 pelagic, and 4 demersal). Microplastics were identified through Nile red staining, and selected particles were analyzed by μ-Raman spectroscopy. The 47.8% of examined fish were found to contain microplastics (233 fragments). The mean concentration of microplastics in the 6 species ranged between 4.11 ± 2.85 items/individual in Adriatic soles, and 1.75 ± 0.71 items/individual in pilchards. Microplastics ranged in size between 0.054 mm and 0.765 mm. Polyethylene and polypropylene were the polymer types identified through μ-Raman spectroscopy. Despite our estimates are underestimations, these results are of particular concern, as the fish analyzed are consumed without being eviscerated, and the microplastics they contain are transferred directly to humans.
•Concentration of MP in gastrointestinal tract of 6 fish species was studied.•The 47.8% of examined fish contained MP.•Demersal species showed higher abundance of MP than pelagic fish.•Mean concentration of MP ranged from 4.11 to 1.75 items/individual.•Polypropylene (64.3%) and polyethylene (35.7%) were identified through μ-Raman spectroscopy.
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the perception of schizophrenia in different categories of persons (directly and/or indirectly) involved with it. Hypotheses were made concerning the ...definition of a multi-class structure where each class should identify a profile characteristic of each respondent's specific role, (e.g.: mental health professional, relative, patient, and student) and specific indicators of schizophrenia (e.g.: causal beliefs, eligible treatments, social distance, perceived dangerousness and public avoidance).
This study involved 577 participants all in contact with schizophrenia with different roles. A Latent Class Analysis (LCA) was applied to define a latent structure of schizophrenia aspects. Such structure was expected be affected by the interaction between respondents' roles, as external variable, and schizophrenia indicators as manifest variables.
A four-latent-class structure representing the four respondents' roles was evidenced, further each class was characterized by schizophrenia indicators representing a profile for each role. Analogies and differences of views and preferences of the respondents' roles concerning schizophrenia emerged clearly.
The four groups of people involved with schizophrenia with different roles demonstrated to interact significantly with specific indicators of schizophrenia shedding new lights on the understanding of schizophrenia in its complexity.
•Architectural integration of solar is an issue in existing urban environments.•To characterize architectural quality needs, a new “criticity”concept is introduced.•A new integration quality ...evaluation method based on objective criteria is proposed.•Function of criticity, quality requests are set by authorities for new installations.•A set of examples and a tool combining irradiation and criticity maps are given.
Increased use of solar collectors in buildings is necessary but poses major challenges in existing built environments, especially where architectural quality is an issue. The large size of solar systems at the building scale requires careful planning, as they may easily end up compromising the aesthetics of buildings, threatening the identity of entire contexts. A new method named LESO-QSV(for Laboratoire d’Energie SOlaire – Qualité-Sensibilité-Visibilité) has been developed to help authorities promote solar energy use while preserving the quality of pre-existing urban areas. The vision underlining the approach is that solar integration is possible also in delicate contexts, if appropriate design efforts and adequate cost investments are made. The issue is then no longer to be in favour or against the use of solar systems in cities, but rather to define appropriate local levels of integration quality, and to identify the factors needed to initiate smart solar energy policies able to preserve the quality of pre-existing urban contexts while promoting solar energy use.
The LESO-QSV method helps tackle these issues with clear and objective proposals:
First it clarifies the notion of architectural integration quality and proposes a simple evaluation method, based on a set of criteria derived from pre-existing literature.
Then it helps authorities set and implement local acceptability requirements, introducing the notion of architectural “criticity” of city surfaces (LESO-QSV acceptability). The concept of “criticity”, at the basis of the whole approach, is defined by the Sensitivity of the urban context where the solar system is planned, combined with its Visibility (close and remote) from the public domain. The more sensitive the urban area and the more visible the system (high “criticity”), the higher the need for integration quality. In practice, authorities will be in charge to set the desired integration quality levels for each of the defined “criticity” situations, considering local specificities (energy context, available energy sources, political and social considerations, city identity and topography, among others). To help authorities set these quality expectations, the software LESO-QSV Grid has been developed. It illustrates the acceptance impact of pre-defined sets of quality requirements, using a large number of integration examples (150 emblematic cases). These detailed examples are provided to show authorities how to objectively evaluate integration quality, but they also constitute a large set of learning examples, good and bad, for architects, installers and building owners.
Finally the method proposes a way to tailor solar energy policies to local urban specificities by mapping the architectural “criticity” of city buildings surfaces, and crossing this information with a city solar irradiation map (LESO-QSV crossmapping), hence completing the characterization of the building surfaces with the potentially required effort of integration.
In the last few years extreme weather events, including changes to storm frequency and intensity, have increased across all continents. In this note we assessed, for the first time in the ...Mediterranean Sea, the impact of a violent storm and consequent flood on offshore water contamination and benthic community along the Calabrian coast (Ionian Sea). Three sites (at 500, 1000, and 2000 m off the coast) were sampled along three parallel transects in 2013, 2014 (before), and 2015 (after the flood). After the flood, metals (especially Al, CrVI, Ni, Cu, Zn) in the water column increased in concentration. The flood affected the structure of the benthic community, causing a decrease of diversity, the dominance of few opportunistic species, and the decrease of M-AMBI values.
•The impact of a flood on offshore benthic community was assessed for the first time in the Mediterranean.•Metals (Al, CrVI, Ni, Cu, Zn) in the water column increased in concentration after the flood.•The flood affected the structure of the benthic community, causing a decrease of diversity.•Few opportunistic species dominated the community after the flood.
The acute toxicity of citrate capped silver nanoparticles (AgNP) and silver nitrate was evaluated on the marine macroalga Ulva rigida C. Agardh (1823). Silver bioaccumulation, ultrastructural ...chloroplast damages verified by TEM microscopy, inhibition of primary production, neutral lipid production and oxidative stress were observed after 24 h of exposure to AgNP. The toxic effects of silver nitrate in artificial seawater started from a concentration of 0.05 ppm and was more toxic than AgNP that produced effects from a concentration of 0.1 ppm. However only AgNP induced lipid peroxidation in U. rigida. The addition of natural organic and inorganic ligands, represented by transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and clay, drastically reduced AgNP acute toxicity in a ratio AgNP:ligand of 1:100 and 1:200, respectively. The findings suggest a marked toxicity of Ag on marine macroalgae which however should be mitigated by the high natural ligand concentrations of the transitional environments.
•The toxic effect of AgNP on Ulva was detected at low concentration of 0.1 ppm.•Ag was accumulated in the tissues of Ulva and resulted in chloroplast disruption.•Natural organic and inorganic ligands reduced the AgNP acute toxicity.
Marine macrophytes are hypothesized to be a major temporary sink for microplastics. In this study, microplastic contamination was investigated in 15 macroalgal species and one seagrass from different ...sites in two lagoons of the northern Adriatic Sea: the Goro lagoon and the Venice lagoon. A high percentage (94%) of the macrophyte samples contained microplastics, ranging from 0.16 to 330 items g−1 fw, with the prevalent size in the range 30–90 µm and an average contamination per unit of fresh weight of 14 items g−1 fw. Microplastic contamination displayed a site-specific, rather than a species-specific, pattern of accumulation. In addition, exopolysaccharides (EPS) displayed a significant positive correlation with the microplastics ononcontamination on macrophytes acting as glue for the plastic particles available in the water column.
Sediment contamination is of major concern in areas affected by heavy maritime traffic. The spatial variation and contamination of 11 trace elements and 17 PAHs in surface sediments were studied ...along a 31 km transect along the seaway from the port of Piombino (Tuscany) to the port of Portoferraio (Elba Island) in the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea. Heavy metal contamination was detected at sites near Piombino (Ni, Pb, Hg, Cu and Zn) and at sites near Portoferraio (Pb, Zn, Hg, Cr and Cd). Each of the 35 sampled sites showed PAH contamination, with the highest concentrations at sites near Portoferraio. The most abundant isomers detected were 2- and 4-ring PAHs. PAH ratio analysis showed a prevalence of PAHs of pyrolytic origin. High values of PAHs and heavy metals were related to high sediment water content, TOC, silt, and clay content. Arsenic increased with increasing depth. The correlation between concentrations of metals and PAHs suggests common anthropogenic sources and is of concern for possible synergistic adverse effects on the biota.
We studied the ecological and functional aspects (such as role in sediment characteristics and plant–animal interactions) of a Ruppia cirrhosa (Petagna) Grande meadow during its vegetative season in ...the choked Valle Campo lagoon, a sub-basin of the wider Valli di Comacchio, on the Northern Adriatic coast. Sampling campaigns were carried out with a roughly fortnightly frequency in 2017 at two sites, one with the Ruppia meadow and one with bare sediment. Sediment parameters analyzed were microphytobenthic chlorophyll-a, protein, carbohydrate, and lipid content, and total organic matter. The macrobenthos was identified at the lowest possible taxonomic level. Chlorophyll a, as a surrogate of microphytobenthos, showed differences between the two sites, probably mainly related to light intensity; thus, it is expected that the absence of seagrass canopy results in the higher production of microphytobenthos. At both sites, proteins were the dominant class of labile compounds, suggesting that detrital organic matter present at both study sites is of high nutritional quality. The high protein/carbohydrate ratio also suggests the presence of non-aged organic matter. We recorded a total of 18 macroinvertebrate taxa. The Ruppia meadow showed a positive influence on macrofauna abundance, diversity, species richness, and composition of trophic groups. Only the infaunal taxa Capitella capitata and Chironomus salinarius exhibited higher abundance at the bare site. The ecological quality status measured by the M-AMBI index was unsatisfactory everywhere. However, the presence of the Ruppia meadow resulted in index values being consistently higher. The role of this minor seagrass has been proved to be of great importance, improving the nutritional quality of the organic matter in the sediments and, above all, providing new habitats and new niches for a number of benthic macrofauna species.
Seagrasses play a vital role in marine ecosystems worldwide. However, until recently these ecosystems were experiencing declines due to various global and local threats. In response to this issue, ...initiatives have been launched to combat seagrass loss by addressing local and regional major stressors and actively engaging in restoration efforts by transplantation. Although seagrass restoration has progressed significantly with the development of numerous transplant techniques, these are not always crowned with success. This is often due to the fact that the environmental parameters of water, sediment and biota of the recipient sites are not carefully considered in their suitability for transplantation. In this study, the multi-year experiences and data from numerous environmental surveys in transitional water systems have been condensed to define limit values for the ideal growth conditions and the extreme values in which the survival of four aquatic angiosperm species is possible:
Cymodocea nodosa
,
Zostera marina
,
Zostera noltei
and
Ruppia cirrhosa
. Approaches to transplants, seasonality and critical issues have been explored. The identified limits and parameters of water, sediment and biota will help to define the suitability of a recipient site for the rooting of seagrasses, increasing the chances of success for transplant operations.
PDF
