Development and machine learning-based calibration of low-cost multiparametric stations for the measurement of CO and CH in air.

The pressing issue of atmospheric pollution has prompted the exploration of affordable methods for measuring and monitoring air contaminants as complementary techniques to standard methods, able to produce high-density data in time and space. The main challenge of this low-cost approach regards the in-field accuracy and reliability of the sensors. This study presents the development of low-cost stations for high-time resolution measurements of CO and CH concentrations calibrated via an in-field machine learning-based method.

Soil processes modify the composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from CO- and CH-dominated geogenic and landfill gases: A comprehensive study.

Degradation mechanisms affecting non-methane volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during gas uprising from different hypogenic sources to the surface were investigated through extensive sampling surveys in areas encompassing a high enthalpy hydrothermal system associated with active volcanism, a CH-rich sedimentary basin and a municipal waste landfill. For a comprehensive framework, published data from medium-to-high enthalpy hydrothermal systems were also included. The investigated systems were characterised by peculiar VOC suites that reflected the conditions of the genetic environments in which temperature, contents of organic matter, and gas fugacity had a major role.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from diffuse degassing areas: Interstitial soil gases as message bearers from deep hydrothermal reservoirs.

The chemical composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in interstitial soil gases from hydrothermal areas is commonly shaped by both deep hydrothermal conditions (e.g., temperature, redox, sulfur fugacity) and shallow secondary processes occurring near the soil-atmosphere interface.

Chronic Central Serous Chorioretinopathy with Pigment Epithelium Detachment Treated with Sildenafil: A Case Report.

Central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) is a retinal disease that may be complicated by the development of serous retinal pigment epithelial detachment (PED). The exact molecular mechanisms of CSCR have remained uncertain as well as there is no effective medical therapy. Herein, we describe a case of a 43-year-old male suffering from chronic CSCR with PED and visual acuity reduction (20/40) that showed improvement in visual acuity (20/25) and metamorphopsia 2 weeks after daily intake of 20 mg sildenafil tablets.

Acclimatization of a coral-dinoflagellate mutualism at a CO vent.

Ocean acidification caused by shifts in ocean carbonate chemistry resulting from increased atmospheric CO concentrations is threatening many calcifying organisms, including corals. Here we assessed autotrophy vs heterotrophy shifts in the Mediterranean zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Balanophyllia europaea acclimatized to low pH/high pCO conditions at a CO vent off Panarea Island (Italy). Dinoflagellate endosymbiont densities were higher at lowest pH Sites where changes in the distribution of distinct haplotypes of a host-specific symbiont species, Philozoon balanophyllum, were observed.

Degradation of biogas in a simulated landfill cover soil at laboratory scale: Compositional changes of main components and volatile organic compounds.

A laboratory experiment lasting 28 days was run to simulate a typical landfill system and to investigate the compositional changes affecting the main components (CH, CO, and H) and nonmethane volatile organic compounds from biogas generated by anaerobic digestion of food waste and passing through a soil column. Gas samples were periodically collected from both the digester headspace and the soil column at increasing distances from the biogas source. CH and H were efficiently degraded along the soil column.

Impact on air quality of carbon and sulfur volatile compounds emitted from hydrothermal discharges: The case study of Pisciarelli (Campi Flegrei, South Italy).

Volcanoes are currently to be regarded as natural sources of air pollutants. Climatic and environmental forcing of large volcanic eruptions are well known, although gases emitted through passive degassing during periods of quiescence or hydrothermal activity can also be highly dangerous for the environment and public health. Based on compositional and isotopic data, a survey on the spatial distribution in air of the main volatile compounds of carbon (CO and CH) and sulfur (HS and SO) emitted from the fumarolic field of Pisciarelli (Campi Flegrei, Pozzuoli, Naples), a hydrothermal area where degassing activity has visibly increased since 2009, was carried out.

OTC intron 4 variations mediate pathogenic splicing patterns caused by the c.386G>A mutation in humans and spf mice, and govern susceptibility to RNA-based therapies.

Background: Aberrant splicing is a common outcome in the presence of exonic or intronic variants that might hamper the intricate network of interactions defining an exon in a specific gene context. Therefore, the evaluation of the functional, and potentially pathological, role of nucleotide changes remains one of the major challenges in the modern genomic era. This aspect has also to be taken into account during the pre-clinical evaluation of innovative therapeutic approaches in animal models of human diseases.

Unveiling the changes in urban atmospheric CO in the time of COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of Florence (Italy).

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by global mobility restrictions and slowdown in manufacturing activities. Accordingly, cities experienced a significant decrease of CO emissions. In this study, continuous measurements of CO fluxes, atmospheric CO concentrations and δC-CO values were performed in the historical center of Florence (Italy) before, during and after the almost two-month long national lockdown.

High concentrations of dissolved biogenic methane associated with cyanobacterial blooms in East African lake surface water.

The contribution of oxic methane production to greenhouse gas emissions from lakes is globally relevant, yet uncertainties remain about the levels up to which methanogenesis can counterbalance methanotrophy by leading to CH oversaturation in productive surface waters. Here, we explored the biogeochemical and microbial community variation patterns in a meromictic soda lake, in the East African Rift Valley (Kenya), showing an extraordinarily high concentration of methane in oxic waters (up to 156 µmol L). Vertical profiles of dissolved gases and their isotopic signature indicated a biogenic origin of CH.

The genetic structure and adaptation of Andean highlanders and Amazonians are influenced by the interplay between geography and culture.

Western South America was one of the worldwide cradles of civilization. The well-known Inca Empire was the tip of the iceberg of an evolutionary process that started 11,000 to 14,000 years ago. Genetic data from 18 Peruvian populations reveal the following: 1) The between-population homogenization of the central southern Andes and its differentiation with respect to Amazonian populations of similar latitudes do not extend northward.

Insights into the Porretta Terme (northern Apennines, Italy) hydrothermal system revealed by geochemical data on presently discharging thermal waters and paleofluids.

This study focuses on the geochemical features of the presently discharging thermal and cold springs and on paleofluids from the upstream portion of the Reno river basin (Alto Reno; central-northern Italy). The aim is investigating the primary sources of the modern and fossil fluids and the interactions between deep and shallow aquifers. Paleofluids are from fluid inclusions hosted within euhedral and hopper quartz crystals and consist of a two-phase, liquid-vapor aqueous fluid and a unary CH fluid.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in solid waste landfill cover soil: Chemical and isotopic composition vs. degradation processes.

Landfills for solid waste disposal release to the atmosphere a large variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Bacterial activity in landfill cover soils can play an important role in mitigating VOC emission. In order to evaluate the effects of degradation processes and characterize VOCs composition in landfill cover soil, gases from 60 sites and along 7 vertical profiles within the cover soil were collected for chemical and isotopic analysis at two undifferentiated urban solid waste disposal sites in Spain: (i) Pinto (Madrid) and (ii) Zurita (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands).

Dissolved organic matter in a tropical saline-alkaline lake of the East African Rift Valley.

Saline-alkaline lakes of the East African Rift are known to have an extremely high primary production supporting a potent carbon cycle. To date, a full description of carbon pools in these lakes is still missing. More specifically, there is not detailed information on the quality of dissolved organic matter (DOM), the main carbon energy source for heterotrophs prokaryotes.

Microbiomes in Soils Exposed to Naturally High Concentrations of CO (Bossoleto Mofette Tuscany, Italy).

Direct and indirect effects of extremely high geogenic CO levels, commonly occurring in volcanic and hydrothermal environments, on biogeochemical processes in soil are poorly understood. This study investigated a sinkhole in Italy where long-term emissions of thermometamorphic-derived CO are associated with accumulation of carbon in the topsoil and removal of inorganic carbon in low pH environments at the bottom of the sinkhole. The comparison between interstitial soil gasses and those collected in an adjacent bubbling pool and the analysis of the carbon isotopic composition of CO and CH clearly indicated the occurrence of CH oxidation and negligible methanogenesis in soils at the bottom of the sinkhole.

Seasonal and diurnal variations of greenhouse gases in Florence (Italy): Inferring sources and sinks from carbon isotopic ratios.

In this study, the results of a continuous monitoring of (i) CO fluxes, and (ii) CO and CH concentrations and carbon isotopic ratios (δC-CO and δC-CH) in air, carried out from 7 to 21 July 2017 and from October 10 to December 15, 2017 in the city centre of Florence, are presented. The measurements were performed from the roof of the historical building of the Ximenes Observatory. CO flux data revealed that the metropolitan area acted as a net source of CO during the whole observation period.

Anomalous concentrations of arsenic, fluoride and radon in volcanic-sedimentary aquifers from central Italy: Quality indexes for management of the water resource.

659 water samples from springs and wells in the Sabatini and Vicano-Cimino Volcanic Districts (central Italy) were analyzed for arsenic (As), fluoride (F) and radon (Rn) concentrations. Waters mostly sourced from a shallow and cold aquifer hosted within volcanic rocks, which represents the main public drinking water supply. Cold waters from perched aquifers within sedimentary formations and thermal waters related to a deep hydrothermal reservoir were also analyzed.

A western route of prehistoric human migration from Africa into the Iberian Peninsula.

Being at the western fringe of Europe, Iberia had a peculiar prehistory and a complex pattern of Neolithization. A few studies, all based on modern populations, reported the presence of DNA of likely African origin in this region, generally concluding it was the result of recent gene flow, probably during the Islamic period. Here, we provide evidence of much older gene flow from Africa to Iberia by sequencing whole genomes from four human remains from northern Portugal and southern Spain dated around 4000 years BP (from the Middle Neolithic to the Bronze Age).