Innovative experimental approach for spatial mapping of source-specific risk contributions of potentially toxic trace elements in PM.

Exposure to potentially toxic trace elements (PTTEs) in inhalable particulate matter (PM) is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiorespiratory diseases. Therefore, in multi-source polluted urban contexts, a spatially-resolved evaluation of health risks associated with exposure to PTTEs in PM is essential to identify critical risk areas. In this study, a very-low volume device for high spatial resolution sampling and analysis of PM was employed in Terni (Central Italy) in a wide and dense network (23 sampling sites, about 1 km between each other) during a 15-month monitoring campaign.

The roles of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids in the process of aggregation of natural marine organic matter investigated by means of 2D correlation spectroscopy applied to infrared spectra.

In this paper the marine organic matter soluble in an alkaline medium called extractable humic substance (EHS), was extracted from three sediment samples of Tyrrhenian Sea and separated by precipitation at pH 2 in the two fractions of fulvic acids (FAs) and humic acids (HAs). FAs were further fractionated in seven sub-samples of different molecular weight (mw) by means of seven different ultrafiltration membranes operating in the range between mw<1 kDa and mw>100 kDa. Then the qualitative composition of each sample of fractionated FAs and HAs was studied by means of one-dimensional Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy in reflectance mode (FTIR-DRIFT) and by two-dimensional (2D) correlation spectroscopy both in wavelength-wavelength (WW) and in sample-sample (SS) mode.

[Evaluation of professional exposure to chloride vinyl monomer and vinyl idene chloride for a pharmaceutical packaging worker].

The study was conducted by Judicial Policy investigations of Prosecution's Office. The event was connected by a professional founded suspicion disease of a pharmaceutical worker. First information coming from the Authority indicated a chloride vinyl monomer (CVM) exposure.

[Biological and chemical risks in haemodialysis centres].

Haemodialysis technique was introduced in 1965 for people afflicted to chronic renal insufficiency, permitting them to survive. The method purifies patient blood who is connected to the equipment by tubes. The equipment uses saline solutions and water and it operates by osmotic pressure and by filtration.

Ultrasound extraction and thin layer chromatography-flame ionization detection analysis of the lipid fraction in marine mucilage samples.

This paper reports an analytical procedure based on ultrasound to extract lipids in marine mucilage samples. The experimental conditions of the ultrasound procedure (solvent and time) were identified by a FT-IR study performed on different standard samples of lipids and of a standard humic sample, before and after the sonication treatment. This study showed that diethyl ether was a more suitable solvent than methanol for the ultrasonic extraction of lipids from environmental samples because it allowed to minimize the possible oxidative modifications of lipids due to the acoustic cavitation phenomena.

An ultrasound assisted extraction of the available humic substance from marine sediments.

In this paper an ultrasound assisted procedure for the extraction of the bio-available fraction of humic substance in marine sediments is described. The proposed method is based on a preliminary 24 h 8 M HCl treatment already proposed in a previous paper [M. Mecozzi, E.

Characterization of mucilage aggregates in Adriatic and Tyrrhenian Sea: structure similarities between mucilage samples and the insoluble fractions of marine humic substance.

The appearance of gelatinous aggregates called mucilages causes serious damages to tourism and fishery industries of the Adriatic Sea. So, many studies have been planned and some of them are still in progress to clarify the origin and causes of the phenomenon. The scientific research has showed that mucilages are produced by several marine organisms when peculiar climatic and trophic conditions occur.

Determination of carbonate in marine solid samples by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy.

A method for detecting carbonate in marine solid samples (sediments, corals) by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) coupled to the total attenuated reflectance (ATR) technique is described. Compared to other techniques, the proposed method is not based on the measurement of CO2 evolved by combustion or acidification of the sample, but on the direct measurement of carbonate present in the sample. For this reason, the method by FTIR-ATR spectroscopy does not require any chemical pre-treatment.

Ultrasound-assisted analysis of total carbohydrates in environmental and food samples.

Analytical methods to determine total carbohydrates in environmental and food samples usually require a preliminary chemical hydrolytic procedure to convert polysaccharides into monosaccharides prior to detection by colorimetric or chromatographic techniques. In this paper, an alternative hydrolytic procedure is presented. The method for hydrolysis of polysaccharides is based on the application of ultrasound at room temperature.