Search results for "lcsh:Environmental sciences"
showing 10 items of 357 documents
Assessment of soil suitability for improvement of soil factors and agricultural management
2019
The dramatic growth of the world&rsquo
Prenatal exposure to organochlorine compounds and lung function during childhood
2019
Introduction: Prenatal exposure to organochlorine compounds (OCs) can increase the risk of reported respiratory symptoms in children. It remains unclear whether these compounds can also impact on lung function. We assessed the association between prenatal exposure to OCs and lung function during childhood. Methods: We included 1308 mother-child pairs enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Prenatal concentrations of p,p′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [p,p′-DDT], p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene [p,p′-DDE], hexachlorobenzene [HCB], and seven polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs] were measured in cord blood. Spirometry was performed in the offspring at ages 4 (n = 636) and 7 years (n = 1192…
Physically based modeling of rainfall-triggered landslides: a case study in the Luquillo forest, Puerto Rico
2013
This paper presents the development of a rainfall-triggered landslide module within an existing physically based spatially distributed ecohydrologic model. The model, tRIBS-VEGGIE (Triangulated Irregular Networks-based Real-time Integrated Basin Simulator and Vegetation Generator for Interactive Evolution), is capable of a sophisticated description of many hydrological processes; in particular, the soil moisture dynamics are resolved at a temporal and spatial resolution required to examine the triggering mechanisms of rainfall-induced landslides. The validity of the tRIBS-VEGGIE model to a tropical environment is shown with an evaluation of its performance against direct observations made w…
Suburban Fertility and Metropolitan Cycles: Insights from European Cities
2021
Being largely diversified along the urban–rural gradient, fertility gaps have demonstrated to fuel metropolitan expansion, contributing to natural population growth and social change. In this direction, population dynamics and economic transformations have continuously shaped urban cycles in Europe. Assuming suburban fertility to be a relevant engine of metropolitan growth, the present study investigates and discusses the intrinsic relationship between fertility transitions and urban expansion, focusing on European metropolitan regions. An average crude birth rate referring to the last decade (2013–2018) was estimated from official statistics at 671 Functional Urban Areas (FUAs, Eurostat Ur…
Contribution to the Sustainability Challenges of the Food-Delivery Sector: Finding from the Deliveroo Italy Case Study
2020
The food delivery sector is assuming increasing importance in the distribution of food products and meals as it is becoming an ordinary component of consumption habits. However, the growth of the sector has inevitably affected the demand for freight transport, especially in urban areas. The aim of this study was to investigate the main enabling factors affecting the adoption of sustainable strategies, among which the electro-mobility, in the food delivery sector and what obstacles to dissemination can be seen. Deliveroo s.r.l. was chosen as case study. Results show that Deliveroo undoubtedly represents a good example of sustainable logistics and the dissemination of good practices among the…
In Situ X-Ray Tomography Imaging of Soil Water and Cyanobacteria From Biological Soil Crusts Undergoing Desiccation
2018
Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are millimeter-sized microbial communities developing on the topsoils of arid lands that cover some 12% of Earth’s continental area. Biocrusts consist of an assemblage of mineral soil particles consolidated into a crust by microbial organic polymeric substances that are mainly produced by the filamentous bundle-forming cyanobacteria, among which Microcoleus vaginatus is perhaps the most widespread. This cyanobacterium is the primary producer for, and main architect of biocrusts in many arid soils, sustaining the development of a diverse microbial community. Biocrusts are only active when wet, and spend most of their time in a state of desiccated quiescence…
Infant exposure of perfluorinated compounds: Levels in breast milk and commercial baby food
2010
In this study, an analytical method to determine six previous termperfluorinatednext term compounds (PFCs) based on alkaline digestion and solid phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-quadrupole-linear ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-QqLIT-MS) was validated for the analysis of human breast milk, milk previous terminfantnext term formulas and cereals baby food. The average recoveries of the different matrices were in general higher than 70% with a relative standard deviation (RSD) lower than 21% and method limits of detection (MLOD) ranging from 1.2 to 362 ng/L for the different compounds and matrices. The method was applied to investigate the occurrence of PFCs in 20 sample…
Factors selection in landslide susceptibility modelling on large scale following the gis matrix method: application to the river Beiro basin (Spain)
2012
A procedure to select the controlling factors connected to the slope instability has been defined. It allowed us to assess the landslide susceptibility in the Rio Beiro basin (about 10 km2) over the northeastern area of the city of Granada (Spain). Field and remote (Google EarthTM) recognition techniques allowed us to generate a landslide inventory consisting in 127 phenomena. To discriminate between stable and unstable conditions, a diagnostic area had been chosen as the one limited to the crown and the toe of the scarp of the landslide. 15 controlling or determining factors have been defined considering topographic, geologic, geomorphologic and pedologic available data. Univariate tests, …
Risk exposure to vibration and noise in the use of agricultural track-laying tractors.
2016
Human exposure to mechanical vibration may represent a significant risk factor for exposed workers in the agricultural sector. Also, noise in agriculture is one of the risk factors to be taken into account in the evaluation of workers’ health and safety. One of the major sources of discomfort for the workers operating a tractors is the noise to which they are exposed during work. The aim of this study was to evaluate the risk of exposure to whole-body vibration for the operator driving track-laying tractors in vineyard orchard and the noise level. The experimental tests were performed with six different track-laying tractors coupled with the same rototilling machine. The results showed that…
A Textual and Visual Analysis of the Intrinsic Value Dimensions of Romania: Towards a Sustainable Destination Brand
2020
This work examines the projected image of Romania as an emerging tourism destination. Computed content-analysis was applied to the photos, text and video materials promoted online in Romania&rsquo