Search results for "elemental"
showing 10 items of 131 documents
Coverage intervals for trace elements in human scalp hair are site specific.
2014
Coverage intervals for trace elements in human scalp hair commonly provide the basis for interpreting laboratory results and also in comparative decision-making processes regarding exposure risk assessment. This short communication documents, by some examples, that those computed for human hair are to be considered site specific, as they reflect local environmental conditions; also each geographic area has a typical profile of hair elemental composition of its inhabitants. Therefore, the levels of trace elements in hair are not strictly comparable between different areas of the world. This issue is particularly relevant when identification of anomalous environmental exposures are requested …
Trace elements in scalp hair of children living in differing environmental contexts in Sicily (Italy)
2012
We present here data about trace elements in human scalp hair samples to test whether they are valuable to reflect environmental exposure and contamination by trace elements. The study compares contents of trace elements in scalp hair from a total of 336 children, aged 11–13 years old, living in various geographical areas of Sicily (southern Italy) characterized by differing environmental conditions. Nineteen elements (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sr, U, V and Zn) were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Coverage intervals (CI) formulated by the elemental composition of hair samples from the Palermo subjects were compared with …
Penalized linear discriminant analysis and Discrete AdaBoost to distinguish human hair metal profiles: The case of adolescents residing near Mt. Etna
2016
The research focus of the present paper was twofold. First, we tried to document that human intake of trace elements is influenced by geological factors of the place of residence. Second, we showed that the elemental composition of human hair is a useful screening tool for assessing people's exposure to potentially toxic substances. For this purpose, we used samples of human hair from adolescents and applied two robust statistical approaches. Samples from two distinct geological and environmental sites were collected: the first one was characterized by the presence of the active volcano Mt. Etna (ETNA group) and the second one lithologically made up of sedimentary rocks (SIC group). Chemica…
Calcium-enriched bread for treatment of uremic hyperphosphatemia
2004
Abstract Objective To assess phosphate-binding efficacy of a new food product, bread with unusually high calcium content (Ca-bread). Design and setting A randomized parallel group trial in the university hospital outpatient dialysis unit. Patients Fifty-three randomly selected uremic patients who met the following inclusion criteria: (1) required maintenance hemodialysis treatment, (2) were not to receive vitamin D throughout the study, (3) were nondiabetic, and (4) were diagnosed with hyperphosphatemia. Intervention Fifty-three patients were randomized into 2 groups: control group (n = 26), which received calcium acetate as a phosphate binder throughout the study, and Ca-bread group (n = 2…
Mechanism of co-pyrolysis of coal-tar pitch with polyacrylonitrile
2003
Abstract Co-pyrolysis of coal-tar pitch with polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and PAN oxidized in air at 300 °C was studied as a possible way of manufacturing of carbonaceous materials enriched in nitrogen. The thermal behaviour of components and blends was evaluated by thermogravimetry and optical microscopy of solid residues. The transformation of nitrogen functional groups on co-treatment was monitored using elemental analysis, infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Oxidized polymer behaved as an inert during co-pyrolysis. In contrast, strong interactions of unoxidized PAN with pitch could be deduced from enhanced residue yield and extensive deterioration of the optical textu…
High-pressure synthesis of boron-rich chalcogenides B12S and B12Se
2022
The authors thank Drs. I. Dovgaliuk and T. Chauveau for assistance with Rietveld analysis; and Drs. V. Bushlya and A. Jamali for help with EDX/SEM measurements. This work was financially supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program under Flintstone2020 project (grant agreement No 689279).
Electron-phonon heat transport and electronic thermal conductivity in heavily doped silicon-on-insulator film
2003
Electron–phonon interaction and electronic thermal conductivity have been investigated in heavily doped silicon at subKelvin temperatures. The heat flow between electron and phonon systems is found to be proportional to T6. Utilization of a superconductor–semiconductor–superconductor thermometer enables a precise measurement of electron and substrate temperatures. The electronic thermal conductivity is consistent with the Wiedemann–Franz law. Peer reviewed
Physical chemistry of the powder metallurgy of beryllium: Chemical characterization of the powder in relation to its granularity
1996
Combining the systematic quantitative chemical analysis of the light impurities H, C, N, and O, the quantitative thermal desorption of molecular H2O and H2, and X ray diffractometry of various size fractions of a commercial Be powder (SP-65 grade from Brush-Wellman) allowed the precise de-termination of the mean composition and equivalent mean thickness of the surface impurity phases in the passivation-contamination layer on the surface of the particles. The overall surface stoichi-ometry is as follows: 0.2 BeOcrystallized, 0.8 [BeO - 0.59 H2O]amorphous, 0.14 H2Oads The result of the elemental analysis by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of the unetched surface of a powder pellet is compare…
2D photonic defect layers in 3D inverted opals on Si platforms
2006
Dielectric spheres synthesised for the fabrication of self-organized photonic crystals such as opals offer large opportunities for the design of novel nanophotonic devices. In this paper, we show a hexagonal superlattice monolayer of dielectric spheres inscribed on a 3D colloidal photonic crystal by e-beam lithography. The crystal is produced by a variation of the vertical drawing deposition method assisted by an acoustic field. The structures were chosen after simulations showed that a hexagonal super-lattice monolayer in air exhibits an even photonic band gap below the light cone if the refractive index of the spheres is higher than 1.93.
The sea–air exchange of mercury (Hg) in the marine boundary layer of the Augusta basin (southern Italy): Concentrations and evasion flux
2013
Abstract The first attempt to systematically investigate the atmospheric mercury (Hg) in the MBL of the Augusta basin (SE Sicily, Italy) has been undertaken. In the past the basin was the receptor for Hg from an intense industrial activity which contaminated the bottom sediments of the Bay, making this area a potential source of pollution for the surrounding Mediterranean. Three oceanographic cruises have been thus performed in the basin during the winter and summer 2011/2012, where we estimated averaged Hg atm concentrations of about 1.5 ± 0.4 (range 0.9–3.1) and 2.1 ± 0.98 (range 1.1–3.1) ng m −3 for the two seasons, respectively. These data are somewhat higher than the background Hg atm …