Climatology of snow depth and water equivalent measurements in the Italian Alps (1967-2020)

A climatology of snow water equivalent (SWE) based on data collected at 240 gauging sites was performed for the Italian Alps over the 1967-2020 period, when Enel routinely conducted snow depth and density measurements with homogeneous methods. Six hydrological sub-regions were investigated spanning from the eastern Alps to the western Alps at altitudes ranging from 1000 to 3000 m a.s.l. Measurements were conducted at fixed dates at the beginning of each month from 1 February to 1 June and on 15 April. To our knowledge, this is the most comprehensive and homogeneous dataset of measured snow depth and density for the Italian Alps. Significant decreasing trends over the years at all fixed dates and elevation classes were identified for both snow depth, equal to - 0.12 +/- 0.06 m per decade, and snow water equivalent, equal to - 51 +/- 37 mm per decade, on average in the six macro-basins we selected. The analysis of bulk snow density data showed a temporal evolution along the snow accumulation and melt season, but no altitudinal trends were found. A Moving Average and Running Trend Analysis (MARTA triangles), combined with a Pettitt's test change-point detection, highlighted a decreasing change of snow climatology occurring around the end of the 1980s. The comparison with winter temperature and precipitation data from the HISTALP dataset identified a major role played by temperature on the long-term decrease and changing points of snow depth and SWE with respect to precipitation, mainly responsible for its variability. Correlation with climatic indexes indicates significant negative values of the Pearson correlation coefficient with winter North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and positive values with winter Western Mediterranean Oscillation (WeMO) for some areas and elevation classes. Results of this climatology are synthesized in a temporal polynomial model that is useful for climatological studies and water resources management in mountain areas

La durata dell’esposizione: informazione negletta nella valutazione del rischio da pesticidi

Introduzione In ambito di valutazione preliminare all\u2019autorizzazione all\u2019impiego, ma anche in studi sul campo, la valutazione del rischio da antiparassitari \ue8 condotta ipotizzando che la durata di una giornata lavorativa sia pari a 8 ore. Purtroppo, in agricoltura, la giornata lavorativa non ha praticamente mai una durata standard, e nella raccolta di dati condotta in corso di studi sul campo, con stima dell\u2019assorbimento cutaneo, non si tiene conto del fatto che i lavoratori lavano le mani pi\uf9 volte durante la giornata lavorativa. In questi casi, considerare la durata di esposizione del corpo e delle mani 8 ore senza considerare eventuali lavaggi effettuati nel corso della giornata potrebbe portare un errore nella valutazione della dose assorbita e, quindi, del rischio per la salute. Obiettivi Lo scopo di questo studio era di stimare la dose di antiparassitario assorbita in corso di applicazioni in agricoltura e quantificare l'influenza della durata dell'esposizione sulla dose interna usando una nuova tecnica statistica. Metodi In una serie di studi sul campo su 29 lavoratori che avevano applicato il fungicida etilenbisditiocarbammato di manganese e zinco (mancozeb) su vigneti per 38 giorni lavorativi, sono stati raccolti tre set di dati: informazioni dettagliate sulle attivit\ue0 lavorative svolte per ogni giornata lavorativa, dose cutanea \u201cpotenziale\u201d (al disopra dell\u2019abbigliamento) e effettiva (sulla cute) attraverso l\u2019applicazione di pads cutanei. \uc8 stata inoltre determinata la concentrazione del principale metabolita del mancozeb, etilentiourea (ETU) sia nella 24 ore precedenti l\u2019esposizione sia nelle 24 successive, La valutazione statistica \ue8 stata condotta utilizzando il linguaggio e l'ambiente per il calcolo statistico \u201cR\u201d. Risultati L\u2019aver considerato nei nostri calcoli la durata dell\u2019esposizione ha portato a una riduzione significativa e quindi a stime pi\uf9 realistiche della dose assorbita rispetto aalle stime condotte ipotizzando una giornata lavorativa standard. In particolare, la dose totale assorbita (escluse le mani), la dose assorbita attraverso le mani, e la dose totale sono risultate pari a meno di 1 ng/kg pc, 3 ng/kg pc e 3 ng/kg pc rispettivamente considerando un turno di 8 ore. La correzione per tempo reale del turno e lavaggio delle mani ha portato ad una riduzione, rispettivamente, del 50%, 81% e 80%. Dopo tale elaborazione, la dose totale assorbita correlava meglio con i livelli di ETU delle urine delle 24 ore post-esposizione rispetto alla dose delle mani, sebbene pi\uf9 del 90% della dose totale assorbita stimata provenga dalle mani. Conclusioni Una migliore capacit\ue0 di stimare la dose totale di antiparassitari assorbita, unitamente alla identificazione di indicatori biologici di dose affidati e validati, come nel nostro caso l'ETU urinaria, possono facilitare la modellizzazione dei livelli di esposizione e permettere di mettere a punto strumenti per la valutazione del rischio senza necessit\ue0 di ricorrere a misure (\u201cprofili\u201d), o anche promuovere l'uso del monitoraggio biologico nella valutazione del rischio da antiparassitari in un ambito critico come l\u2019agricoltura

Urinary ethylenethiourea as biomarkers of exposure to ethylenebisdithiocarbamates in floriculture workers in Ecuador

Floriculture represents one of the major sources of income in Ecuador that is one of the greatest worldwide producers of ornamental flowers. Floriculture can be carried out both in open fields and in greenhouses with an extensive use of pesticides, among which, ethylenbisdithiocarbamate fungicides (EBDTCs). Aim of this study was to assess EBDTCs exposure in Ecuadorian floricultural workers by the determination of the urinary excretion of the major metabolite of these compounds, ethylenethiourea (ETU). Thirty-six floriculture workers and 34 unexposed healthy subjects (controls) from an Andean region entered the study. Workers were exposed to EBDTCs while applying plant protection products, and during re-entry activities or crop maintenance in one open field and two greenhouse farms. They provided morning pre-exposure (n=31) and afternoon post-exposure (n=24) urine spot samples. Controls provided one urine spot sample collected in the morning. In agricultural workers median ETU in pre- and after-exposure samples was 3.2 (<0.5-34.5) and 6.2 (1.5-26.5) \ub5g/g creatinine. Although ETU increased after the workshift the difference was not significant. ETU was higher in workers then in controls (0.7, <0.5-7.1 \ub5g/g creatinine, p < 0.01). When subjects were divided according to job titles, applicators showed the highest ETU (17.0, 1.5-34.5 \ub5g/g creatinine) whereas growing, post-harvesting and maintenance workers showed similar levels (4.3, <0.5-26.5; 2.8, <0.5-11.1; 4.8, 3.2-6.5 \ub5g/g creatinine, respectively). Higher ETU was observed in greenhouse compared to open field workers (p < 0.01). This study suggests that Ecuadorian floricultures are exposed to EBDTCs at levels approaching those observed in Italian vineyard workers. The lack of difference between ETU in pre- vs. post-exposure samples is attributable to previous day exposure, in fact the kinetic of excretion is such that in prior to next shift urine significant amount of ETU is still present

Surface melting over the Greenland ice sheet derived from enhanced resolution passive microwave brightness temperatures (1979–2019)

Surface melting is a major component of the Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance, and it affects sea level rise through direct runoff and the modulation of ice dynamics and hydrological processes, supraglacially, englacially and subglacially. Passive microwave (PMW) brightness temperature observations are of paramount importance in studying the spatial and temporal evolution of surface melting due to their long temporal coverage (1979–present) and high temporal resolution (daily). However, a major limitation of PMW datasets has been the relatively coarse spatial resolution, which has historically been of the order of tens of kilometers. Here, we use a newly released PMW dataset (37 GHz, horizontal polarization) made available through a NASA “Making Earth System Data Records for Use in Research Environments” (MeASUREs) program to study the spatiotemporal evolution of surface melting over the Greenland ice sheet at an enhanced spatial resolution of 3.125 km. We assess the outputs of different detection algorithms using data collected by automatic weather stations (AWSs) and the outputs of the Modèle Atmosphérique Régional (MAR) regional climate model. We found that sporadic melting is well captured using a dynamic algorithm based on the outputs of the Microwave Emission Model of Layered Snowpack (MEMLS), whereas a fixed threshold of 245 K is capable of detecting persistent melt. Our results indicate that, during the reference period from 1979 to 2019 (from 1988 to 2019), surface melting over the ice sheet increased in terms of both duration, up to 4.5 (2.9) d per decade, and extension, up to 6.9 % (3.6 %) of the entire ice sheet surface extent per decade, according to the MEMLS algorithm. Furthermore, the melting season started up to 4.0 (2.5) d earlier and ended 7.0 (3.9) d later per decade. We also explored the information content of the enhanced-resolution dataset with respect to the one at 25 km and MAR outputs using a semi-variogram approach. We found that the enhanced product is more sensitive to local-scale processes, thereby confirming the potential of this new enhanced product for monitoring surface melting over Greenland at a higher spatial resolution than the historical products and for monitoring its impact on sea level rise. This offers the opportunity to improve our understanding of the processes driving melting, to validate modeled melt extent at high resolution and, potentially, to assimilate these data in climate models.Peer reviewe

Assessment of penconazole exposure in winegrowers using urinary biomarkers

Penconazole (PEN) is a fungicide used in agriculture. The aim of this work was to evaluate the exposure to PEN in vineyard workers focusing on urinary biomarkers. Twenty-two agricultural workers were involved in the study; they were investigated during PEN applications and re-entry work, performed for 1-4 consecutive working days, for a total of 42 mixing and applications and 12 re-entries. Potential and actual dermal exposure, including hand exposure, were measured using pads and hand washes. Urine samples were collected starting before the first application, continuing during the work shift, and ending 48\u202fh after the last shift. The determination of PEN in dermal samples and PEN metabolites in urine was performed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Dermal potential body exposure and actual total exposure showed median levels ranging from 18 to 3356\ub5g and from 21 to 111\u202f\ub5g, respectively. Urinary monohydroxyl-derivative PEN-OH was the most abundant metabolite; its excretion rate peaked within 24\u202fh after the work shift. In this period, median concentrations of PEN-OH and the carboxyl-derivative PEN-COOH ranged from 15.6 to 27.6\u202f\ub5g/L and from 2.5 to 10.2\u202f\ub5g/L, respectively. The concentration of PEN-OH during the work shift, in the 24\u202fh after and in the 25-48\u202fh after the work shift were correlated with actual body and total dermal exposure (Pearson's r from 0.279 to 0.562). Our results suggest that PEN-OH in the 24\u202fh post-exposure urine is a promising candidate for biomonitoring PEN exposure in agricultural workers

Occupational Health in Mountainous Kyrgyzstan

BACKGROUND: In the period of transition from a centralized economy to the market economy, occupational health services in Kyrgyzstan have survived through dramatic, detrimental changes. It is common for occupational health regulations to be ignored and for basic occupational health services across many industrial enterprises and farms to be neglected. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to demonstrate the present situation and challenges facing occupational health services in Kyrgyzstan. FINDINGS: The transition from centralized to the market economy in Kyrgyzstan has led to increased layoffs of workers and unemployment. These threats are followed by increased workload, and the health and safety of workers becomes of little concern. Private employers ignore occupational health and safety; consequently, there is under-reporting of occupational diseases and accidents. The majority of enterprises, especially those of small or medium size, are unsanitary, and the health status of workers remains largely unknown. The low official rates of occupational diseases are the result of data being deliberately hidden; lack of coverage of working personnel by medical checkups; incompetent management; and the poor quality of staff, facilities, and equipment. Because Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country, the main environmental and occupational factor of enterprises is hypoxia. Occupational health specialists have greatly contributed to the development of occupational medicine in the mountains through science and practice. CONCLUSIONS: The enforcement of existing strong occupational health legislation and increased financing of occupational health services are needed. The maintenance of credible health monitoring and effective health services for workers, re-establishment of medical services and sanitary-hygienic laboratories in industrial enterprises, and support for scientific investigations on occupational risk assessment will increase the role of occupational health services in improving the health of the working population

Occupational Health Services Integrated in Primary Health Care in Iran

Introduction A healthy workforce is vital for maintaining social and economic development on a global, national and local level. Around half of the world's people are economically active and spend at least one third of their time in their place of work while only 15 of workers have access to basic occupational health services. According to WHO report, since the early 1980s, health indicators in Iran have consistently improved, to the extent that it is comparable with those in developed countries. In this paper it was tried to briefly describe about Health care system and occupational Health Services as part of Primary Health care in Iran. Methods To describe the health care system in the country and the status of occupational health services to the workers and employers, its integration into Primary Health Care (PHC) and outlining the challenges in provision of occupational health services to the all working population. Findings Iran has fairly good health indicators. More than 85 percent of the population in rural and deprived regions, for instance, have access to primary healthcare services. The PHC centers provide essential healthcare and public-health services for the community. Providing, maintaining and improving of the workers' health are the main goals of occupational health services in Iran that are presented by different approaches and mostly through Workers' Houses in the PHC system. Conclusions Iran has developed an extensive network of PHC facilities with good coverage in most rural areas, but there are still few remote areas that might suffer from inadequate services. It seems that there is still no transparent policy to collaborate with the private sector, train managers or provide a sustainable mechanism for improving the quality of services. Finally, strengthening national policies for health at work, promotion of healthy work and work environment, sharing healthy work practices, developing updated training curricula to improve human resource knowledge including occupational health professionals are recommended. © 2015 The Authors