Fire and climate: Biomass burning recorded in ice and lake cores

Human activities including fossil fuel burning are currently altering the global climate system at rates faster than ever recorded in geologic time. Biomass burning causes carbon dioxide emissions equal to 50% of those from fossil-fuel combustion and so are highly likely to influence future climate change. However, aerosols continue to be one of the least understood aspects of the modern climate system and even less is known about their past influence. Ice and lake core proxy records provide quantifiable data on past fire regimes across most spatial and temporal scales. Some monosaccharide anhydrides such as levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan are used as specific molecular markers for biomass burning as they can only be produced by combustion processes at temperatures greater than 300 °C and are present in both ice and lake cores. Other paleofire tracers such as microcharcoal, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and pollen records augment the fire history derived at single sites or across regions. As both pyrochemical and climate parameters are determined from the same depth and time within the ice or sediment matrix, the multi-proxy nature of ice and lake cores presents an ideal material to investigate the links between fires and climate change

A year-round measurement of water-soluble trace and rare earth elements in arctic aerosol: Possible inorganic tracers of specific events

This study presents the year-round variability of the water-soluble fraction of trace elements (wsTE) and rare earth elements (wsREE) among size segregated airborne particulate matter samples collected at Ny-Å lesund in the Svalbard Archipelago from 26 February 2018 to 26 February 2019. Six different aerosol dimensional fractions were collected using a multi-stage Andersen impactor to better understand local and global circulation with the aim of disentangling the source of inorganic tracers from specific natural or anthropogenic sources. The wsTE and wsREE content, especially in the finest fractions in remote areas, is primarily related to long-range transport and it gives valuable information on (1) the global circulation, (2) the natural sources and (3) the contribution of human activities to aerosol composition. A Factor Analysis was applied to the dataset, including levoglucosan and methanesulfonic acid (MSA), to assess the possibility of using certain inorganic tracers as indicators of specific transport events or circulation regimes. We also investigate back-trajectories to determine potential source areas

The psychopathology of body image in orthorexia nervosa

The human body has a complex meaning and role in everybody\u2019s life and experience. Body image has two main components: body percept (the internal visual image of body shape and size) and body concept (the level of satisfaction with one\u2019s body), whose specific alterations may lead to different conditions, such as overestimation of one\u2019s own body dimensions, negative feelings and thoughts towards the body, body avoidance and body checking behavior. Moreover, body dissatisfaction can be associated with a variety of other mental health and psychosocial conditions, but only a few studies have explored the body image construct in orthorexia nervosa (ON). ON is a condition characterized by concern and fixation about healthy eating, with mixed results available in the literature about the presence of body image disorders. The aim of this manuscript is to present the main findings from the literature about the psychopathology of body image in ON. Summarizing, while theoretically the presence of body image disturbances should help clinicians to differentiate ON from eating disorders, further research is needed to confirm this finding. It is not clear whether the body image disorder in ON depends on an altered body percept or body concept, and the relationship between the disordered eating behavior and body image disorder still needs to be disentangled. Further studies regarding the relationship between ON and body image could be helpful to better understand the relevance of body image as a transdiagnostic factor and its potential value as target for treatment intervention

Breast cancer and communication: Monocentric experience of a self-assessment questionnaire

Background: The communication of the diagnosis of breast cancer induces to the patient a strong psychological trauma. Radiologists are at the forefront of communicating, either for a biopsy or the probable diagnosis of malignancy. This is a complex task, which requires the knowledge and application of correct “communicative models”, among which the SPIKES protocol rep-resents a fundamental reference. Design and methods: 110 patients, with a history of breast cancer, filled out a questionnaire consisting of six questions: five aimed at defining communication compliance with the SPIKES protocol, the sixth, consisting of six feelings, aimed at the knowledge of the next emotional state. Results: Regarding compliance with various “strategic points” of the SPIKES protocol, questionnaires show that 70% of patients reported no omissions, while the remaining 30% reported omissions relatively to perception (56%), emotions (23%), setting (13%), knowledge (6%) and invitation (2%). The results showed the existence of a correlation between the final emotional state and the correct application of the SPIKES protocol; in fact, patients who reacted with a positive final emotional state-reported greater adherence to the strategic points of the SPIKES protocol. Conclusions: In healthcare, knowing the communicative compliance of a team in giving “bad news” is fundamental, especially in breast cancer. The SPIKES protocol is recognized by the Literature as a fundamental reference able to affect “positively” the emotional state of patients. The proposed questionnaire is a valid tool to identify the weak points of communication and related criticalities, to improve clinical practice

Microplastic accumulation in benthic invertebrates in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica)

Microplastic contamination of the benthic invertebrate fauna in Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea, Antarctica) was determined. Twelve macrobenthic species, characterized by different feeding strategies, were selected at 3 sampling sites at increasing distance from the Italian Scientific Base (Mario Zucchelli, Camp Icarus, Adelie Cove). The 83% of the analyzed macrobenthic species contained microplastics (0.01–3.29 items mg−1). The size of the particles, measured by Feret diameter, ranged from 33 to 1000 µm with the highest relative abundance between 50 and 100 µm. Filter-feeders and grazers displayed values of microplastic contamination from 3 to 5 times higher than omnivores and predators, leading to the hypothesis that there is no evident bioaccumulation through the food web. The prevalent polymers identified by micro-FTIR were nylon (86%) and polyethylene (5%); other polymers identified in Antarctic benthos were polytetrafluoroethylene, polyoxymethylene, phenolic resin, polypropylene, polystyrene resin and XT polymer

The Great Acceleration of fragrances and PAHs archived in an ice core from Elbrus, Caucasus

The Great Acceleration of the anthropogenic impact on the Earth system is marked by the ubiquitous distribution of anthropogenic materials throughout the global environment, including technofossils, radionuclides and the exponential increases of methane and carbon dioxide concentrations. However, personal care products as direct tracers of human domestic habits are often overlooked. Here, we present the first research combining fragrances, as novel personal care products, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as combustion and industrial markers, across the onset of the Great Acceleration in the Elbrus, Caucasus, ice core. This archive extends from the 1930s to 2005, spanning the profound changes in the relationship between humans and the environment during the twentieth century. Concentrations of both fragrances and PAHs rose throughout the considered period, reflecting the development of the Anthropocene. However, within this rising trend, remarkable decreases of the tracers track the major socioeconomic crises that occurred in Eastern Europe during the second half of the twentieth century

Fragrance materials (FMs) affect the larval development of the copepod Acartia tonsa: An emerging issue for marine ecosystems

Fragrance materials (FMs) are used in a variety of detergents and cosmetics, including household and personal care products. Despite their widespread use and the growing evidence of their occurrence in surface waters worldwide, very little is known about their toxicity towards marine species, including a key component of the marine food webs such as copepods. Thus, we investigated the toxicity of six of the more long-lasting and stable commercial fragrances, including Amyl Salicylate (AMY), Oranger Crystals (ORA), Hexyl Salicylate (HEX), Ambrofix (AMB), Peonile (PEO), and Benzyl Salicylate (BZS), to assess their ability to impair the larval development of the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa. FMs inhibited the development of A. tonsa significantly at concentrations by far lower than the effect-concentrations reported in the literature for aquatic species. The more toxic FMs were HEX (EC50 = 57 ng L−1), AMY (EC50 = 131 ng L−1) and ORA (EC50 = 766 ng L−1), while the other three compounds exerted toxic effects at concentrations higher than 1000 ng L−1 (LOEC at 1000 ng L−1 for PEO and BZS, and at 10,000 ng L−1 for AMB). Early life-stage mortality was unaffected by FMs at all the tested concentrations. A comparison with water concentrations of FMs reported in the literature confirmed that FMs, especially HEX and AMY, may act as contaminants of potential concern in many aquatic habitats, including urban areas and remote and polar environments

The Occurrence of Glyphosate and its Degradation Products in the Urban Stormwater: A Short Review

Due to urbanization and industrialization, water pollution is now one of the major environmental challenges of the twenty-first century. Considering the increasing of agricultural and non-agricultural settings in the last decades, the investigation of the relationship between such pesticides and urban stormwater is critical to understand how urban, residential, and industrialized areas can affect environmental safety. Recently, scientific interest has grown in stormwater chemical characterization with the aim to define its impacts in the environment and possibly to make it potable water. In this context, glyphosate, glufosinate, and their degradation products have been identified as the key knowledge gap for the chemical characterization of stormwater. Research investments are needed for a better understanding of the highly polar pesticides to estimate their load, source, and dispersion of urban runoff due to residential use of herbicides. Furthermore, a more comprehensive study of wet and dry deposition and spray drift should be considered for a correct evaluation of source apportionment

Synthesis and complexing properties of cyclic benzylopeptoids-a new family of extended macrocyclic peptoids

An efficient protocol for the solid-phase synthesis of six members of a new class of extended macrocyclic peptoids (based on ortho-, meta- and para-N-(methoxyethyl)aminomethyl phenylacetyl units) is described. Theoretical (DFT) and experimental (NMR) studies on the free and Na+-complexed cyclic trimers (3\u20135) and tetramers (6\u20138) demonstrate that annulation of the rigidified peptoids can generate new hosts with the ability to sequestrate one or two sodium cations with the affinities and stoichiometries defined by the macrocycle morphology. Ion transport studies have been also performed in order to better appreciate the factors promoting transmembrane cation translocation