Analysis of the potential contamination risk of groundwater resources circulating in areas with anthropogenic activities

The area investigated is located in the province of Brindisi (Italy). It is a generally flat area separated from the nearby carbonatic plateau of the Murgia by quite indistinct and high fault scarps. As regards the geological features, carbonatic basement rocks and post-cretaceous terrains made up of calabrian calcarenites and middle-upper Pleistocenic marine terraced deposits can be distinguished. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> In the examined area there are two different hydrogeological environments. The first is represented by deep groundwater, the main groundwater resource in Apulia. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> The second hydrogeological environment, now of lesser importance than the deep aquifer in terms of size and use, is made up of some small shallow groundwater systems situated in post-calabrian sands and located in the eastern area. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> During some sampling cycles carried out in the studied area, water was withdrawn from both the deep aquifer and from the shallow groundwater. For every sample, the necessary parameters were determined for the physical and chemical characterisation of two different hydrogeological environments. Moreover, some chemical parameters indicating anthropogenic activities were determined. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> Analysis of the aerial distribution of the measured parameters has shown some main areas subject to different conditions of contamination risk, in accordance with the hydrogeological and geological features of the investigated area. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> In the south-eastern part of the investigated area, the important action performed by the surface aquifer for protecting the deep groundwater from contamination of anthropogenic origin is clear.<p> On the other hand, in the shallow groundwater, areas of nitrate and nitrite contamination have been identified, which result from the extensive use of fertilizers

Intrinsic Vulnerability Assessment of a Confined Carbonatic Aquifer: the Brindisi Plain Case (Southern Italy)

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PROMOZIONE DELLA SALUTE E LAVORO AI SENSI DEL D. LGS. 81/08: L’ESEMPIO DELLA SINDROME METABOLICA

The metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by multiple cardiovascular risk factors such as central obesity, hypertension, dislipidemia and hyperinsulinemia and is associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular events and mortality. We assessed the prevalence of MS in a heterogeneous working population and described differences related to work type and lifestyle habits. Data were collected during the health surveillance on 120 individuals (91% male and 9% female; mean age 48,9, SD 8,2) actively employed in a water delivery factory of South Italy. Blood biochemical assays were performed on fasting blood sample to detect the following metabolic values: Total Cholesterol, HDL, Triglycerides and Fasting Glucose. Major cardiovascular risk factors related to lifestyle habits and health were investigated. The waist circumference (WC) and Body Mass Index (BMI) were assessed; Metabolic Syndrome was defined using ATP-III criteria. The mean values of WC and BMI were 93,8±11,6 cm and 26,6 ±4 Kg/m2 respectively. Among the total subject group, 51 ,7% were classified as abdominal obesity (defined as a WC>102 cm in men and >88 cm in women) and 29,2% as MS. In our study a higher prevalence of MS (36,8%) was found in active workers

Analysis of 21-deoxycortisol, a marker of congenital adrenal hyperplasia, in blood by atmospheric pressure chemical ionization and electrospray ionization using multiple reaction monitoring

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an autosomal recessive disorder mainly caused by 21-hydroxylase deficit (21-OHD). Deletions or mutations of the CYP21 gene induce the impairment of glucocorticoid and mineralcorticoid synthesis. 17-Hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) is the hormonal marker in patients, but not in the heterozygous subjects. Excess 17-OHP is hydroxylated into 21-deoxycortisol (21-DF), and therefore 21-DF can be used as a specific marker for diagnosis of heterozygous individuals. We report an analytical method for analysis of 21-DF in blood samples using electrospray (ESI) and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI), showing that ESI is very sensitive for the analysis of this marker molecule. The multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) approach was used to increase the specificity and the sensitivity of the method