Search results for "Italy"
showing 10 items of 2893 documents
Soil Heavy Metals Patterns in the Torino Olympic Winter Games Venue (E.U.)
2008
International audience; The city of Torino (45°N, 7°E NW Italy) has a long history of heavy industry. Additional sources of potential pollutants originate from transport such as car emissions. We selected an area potentially at high risk of contamination: it is sandwiched between roads, the circular Turin highway and the motorway which connects to France, and a landfill where special and hazardous solid wastes from industry are disposed of. Our main aim was i) to discriminate between these sources of heavy metals (HM) and ii) to assess a simplified HM transfer scenario. We started with air diffusion models (inputs were meteo and chemistry of the particulate), then we described topsoils (12 …
Multivariate analysis of historical data (2004-2013) in assessing the possible environmental impact of the Bellolampo landfill (Palermo).
2017
Multivariate analysis was performed on a large data set of groundwater and leachate samples collected during 9 years of operation of the Bellolampo municipal solid waste landfill (located above Palermo, Italy). The aim was to obtain the most likely correlations among the data. The analysis results are presented. Groundwater samples were collected in the period 2004–2013, whereas the leachate analysis refers to the period 2006–2013. For groundwater, statistical data evaluation revealed notable differences among the samples taken from the numerous wells located around the landfill. Characteristic parameters revealed by principal component analysis (PCA) were more deeply investigated, and corr…
Effects of air pollution on production of essential oil in Feijoa Sellowiana Berg. grown in the "Italian triangle of death"
2010
The composition of the essential oils of fruits from Feijoa sellowiana grown in the district of Acerra is compared with those collected from unpolluted sites. Essential oils from the fruits of F. sellowiana were analysed by GC/MS. Sixty compounds, representing 96.6% and 97.8% (unpolluted site and Acerra site, respectively) of the oils, were identified. The major constituents were β-caryophyllene (12.4% and 16.8%), ledene (9.6% and 11.1%), α-humulene (6.3% and 8.2%), β-elemene (4.9% and 5.3%) and δ-cadinene (4.7% and 5.2%) in the control site and Acerra site, respectively. The antioxidant components were increased in response to polluted condition. The acetonic extracts of F. sellowiana from…
An aggregate AQI: comparing different standardizations and introducing a variability index
2012
Many studies demonstrate a strong relationship between air pollution and respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. For this reason, assessing air pollution, and conveying information about its possible adverse health effects, may encourage population and policy makers to reduce those activities increasing pollution levels. In this paper a relative index of variability, to be associated with the aggregate Air Quality Index (AQI) among pollutants proposed by Ruggieri and Plaia (2011), is developed in order to better investigate air pollution conditions for the whole area of a city/region. The most widely-used and up to date pollution indices, based mainly on AQI computed by the US Environmenta…
Quantification of diffuse and concentrated pollutant loads at the watershed-scale: an Italian case study
2009
In this study, diffuse and point source pollutant loads were evaluated using an Italian case study: the Nocella catchment, which has been subject to extensive monitoring. The Nocella catchment is located in Sicily (Italy) and has an area of about 60 km2. The river receives wastewater and stormwater from two urban areas drained by combined sewers. The two sewer systems, two wastewater treatment plants and a river reach were monitored during both dry and wet weather periods. Thereafter, an integrated catchment-scale model was applied to simulate point pollutant sources, i.e., pollution coming from the urban drainage system, and nonpoint pollutant sources, i.e., pollution coming from agricultu…
Analytical method, pattern and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the stone of the Temples of Agrigento (Italy)
2009
Abstract This study shows the extraction and analytical conditions for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the stone of archaeological and historical interest. The aim of this research was to determine the concentrations, distribution and the main sources of PAHs present in the surface layer of stone of the Temples of Agrigento. Together with PAHs, we analyzed sulphates and nitrates since it has been demonstrated that these are very destructive salts that play an important role in the deterioration of stones. Total PAHs at different sites of the Valley of Temples at Agrigento varied from 18 to 84 μg/kg. Analyses were performed by GC–MS. The relative abundance of …
Determining exhaust fumes exposure in chainsaw operations
2016
Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the inhalation exposure of forest operators to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and total xylenes) contained in the exhaust fumes released from chainsaws and to suggest possible countermeasures. The study was carried out in four silvicultural treatments (coppice clearcut, conifer thinning, conifer pruning, and sanitary cut), using three types of chainsaw fuel (normal two-stroke petrol mix and two alkylate fuels). Eighty personal air samples were collected; IOM samplers combined with Amberlite XAD-2 sorbent tubes were used for collecting PAHs and Radiello® samplers were used for BTEX. Resu…
Lauroside B, a Megastigmane Glycoside from Laurus Nobilis (Bay Laurel) Leaves, Induces Apoptosis in Human Melanoma Cell Lines by Inhibiting NF-κB Act…
2010
Malignant melanoma is a highly aggressive tumor that frequently resists chemotherapy, so the search for new agents for its treatment is of great importance. In the present study, the antiproliferative propensity against human melanoma cell lines of lauroside B (1), a megastigmane glycoside isolated from Laurus nobilis (bay laurel) leaves, was investigated. This compound suppressed the proliferation of three human melanoma cell lines, namely, A375, WM115, and SK-Mel-28. The 1-induced inhibition of human melanoma cell proliferation was due to the induction of apoptosis, as demonstrated by FACS analysis with annexin V/PI staining and confirmed by activation of caspase-3 and by the cleavage of …
Effect of solid waste landfill organic pollutants on groundwater in three areas of Sicily (Italy) characterized by different vulnerability
2017
The aim of this study was to obtain information on the presence and levels of hazardous organic pollutants in groundwater located close to solid waste landfills. Eighty-two environmental contaminants, including 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 20 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 29 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 7 dioxins (polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, PCDDs) and 10 furans (polychlorinated dibenzofurans, PCDFs) were monitored in areas characterised by different geological environments surrounding three municipal solid waste landfills (Palermo, Siculiana and Ragusa) in Sicily (Italy) in three sampling campaigns. The total concentrations of the 16 PAHs were always below t…
Folk and Popular as "National": The Invention of the Italian Unity through Poetry and Music
2013
La nascita delle moderne filologia, musicologia ed etnologia nel XIX sec. ha contribuito ad approfondire anche in Italia lo studio scientifico della poesia e della musica non cólte. I termini popolare e nazionale, tuttavia, erano passibili all’epoca delle interpretazioni più varie, in virtù del diverso approccio delle tre discipline alla materia. Gli storici della letteratura si occupavano infatti di poesia con scarsa sensibilità per la musica, i musicologi di musica antica senza alcuna preparazione letteraria, gli etnologi indagavano i fenomeni nel loro accadere e solo in qualche caso formulavano ipotesi sulla storicità delle tradizioni. La prima generazione di studiosi delle tre branche p…