Policy instruments to fight against seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers: an overview

Groundwater is a subject of rising social concern, especially in coastal zones where it is increasingly mobilized to satisfy water demands (essentially for agriculture and urban uses). Overexploitation of coastal aquifers may lead to permanent water quality degradation as a consequence of seawater intrusion. Policy measures have been undertaken in some countries either to avoid this threat or to solve the observed seawater intrusion. This article analyses, from an economic perspective, the different types of "policy instruments" taken in different empirical cases. It begins by the description of the theoretical framework detailing in particular the different elements entering in water management procedure (the resource, the agents and the regulator) and the different types of instruments that can in theory be implemented. Based on this theoretical framework, the different instruments mobilized in practice are presented. Finally, we conclude on the possible evolution of groundwater policy aimed to prevent and manage seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers

Study of the formation of Cu-24at.% Al by reactive milling

In this work, powders of Cu and Al were milled with a proportion equal to 24 atomic % Al, using low and medium energy mills. The initial, intermediate and final stages of the resulting powder are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and different transmission electron microscopy techniques. The structure and microstructure achieved in each step of the milling process are compared to the results of Cu-16at.%Al and Cu-30at.%Al obtained under the same conditions of reactive milling. At the final stage of milling, it was detected that the obtained intermetallic is not the equilibrium phase of the Cu-Al system.Fil: Giordana, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Muñoz Vásquez, Natalia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Gerencia del Área de Energía Nuclear. Instituto Balseiro; ArgentinaFil: Garro González, M.. Universidad de Costa Rica; Costa RicaFil: Esquivel, Marcelo Ricardo Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Comahue. Centro Regional Universitario Bariloche; ArgentinaFil: Zelaya, Maria Eugenia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentina. Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica. Centro Atómico Bariloche; Argentin

Bacillus thuringiensis toxin inhibits K+-gradient-dependent amino acid transport across the brush border membrane of Pieris brassicae midgut cells

AbstractThe luminal membrane of larval midgut cells is the site of action of insecticidal delta-endotoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis. At concentrations that correspond to normal effective doses in vivo, the toxin inhibits the uptake of amino acids by brush border membrane vesicles prepared from midguts of Pieris brassicae larvae. The toxin does not interact with the K+-amino acid symport but rather increases the K+ permeability of the membrane. The toxin does not increase the permeability of lepidopteran midgut brush border membrane to either Na+ or H+ nor does it increase the K+ permeability of brush border membrane vesicles prepared from mammalian small intestine

A pluridisciplinary methodology for intregrated management of coastal aquifer - Geological, hydrogeological and economic studies of the Roussillon aquifer (Pyrénées-Orientales, France)

In order to study Mediterranean coastal water management, a pluridisciplinarity approach is developed. Reservoir geology and some of its tools, used in oil prospecting, are applied to build a detailed sedimentary model. The analysis of depositional environments and sedimentary process allows the correlation of pre-existing data (outcrop, borehole, and seismic profile) using Genetic stratigraphy (onshore domain) and seismic stratigraphy (offshore domain). The interpretation results in a better knowledge of the sedimentary geometries following correlations between onshore and offshore domains. It is thus possible to differentiate the coastal groundwater aquifers precisely and to establish their relative connections. At the same time, hydrogeological investigations such as hydrochemistry and geophysical prospecting allow us to elaborate the hydrogeological conceptual model of the case studies. Variable-density flow and solute transport simulations constitute the hydrogeological work. Experimental economy constitutes the third part of this integrated methodology. It assesses the effectiveness of institutional arrangements to cope with aquifer overexploitation. Feed-back from these three fields of research will also authenticate our methodology. This approach applied on Roussillon basin (South-west of French Mediterranean coastline) could be exported to many other coastal area

Efficacy of ultra-micronized palmitoylethanolamide in canine atopic dermatitis: an open-label multi-centre study.

Background Palmitoylethanolamide is a naturally occurring bioactive lipid, produced on-demand by damage-exposed cells. Palmitoylethanolamide is documented to counteract inflammation, itch and pain. Objective The aim of this 8-week study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral ultra-micronized palmitoylethanolamide (PEA-um) in dogs with moderate atopic dermatitis. Animals Clinicians from 39 veterinary clinics enrolled 160 dogs with nonseasonal atopic dermatitis and moderate pruritus. Methods This was a multi-centre open-label study. On days 0 (D0) and 56 (D56), owners evaluated pruritus with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and completed a validated Quality of Life (QoL) questionnaire. Veterinarians assessed the severity of skin lesions using the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Lesion Index (CADLI). Results Mean pruritus VAS score decreased from 5.7 ± 0.08 cm (range 3.8–7.9 cm) to 3.63 ± 0.19 cm (range 0.1–9.2 cm) (P < 0.0001). At D56, 58% of dogs showed a greater than 2 cm reduction from baseline and 30% showed an absent-to-very mild pruritus (VAS ≤ 2 cm). Mean total CADLI at D56 decreased significantly (P < 0.0001); in 62% of dogs this score reached a value in the remission range (≤5). Mean total QoL score was significantly decreased (P < 0.0001) with 45% of dogs reaching QoL values described for healthy animals. Tolerability was good-to-excellent with only four dogs reporting treatment associated reversible adverse events. Conclusions and clinical importance PEA-um appears to be effective and safe in reducing pruritus and skin lesions, and in improving QoL in dogs with moderate atopic dermatitis and moderate pruritus

Exploring SnxTi1-xO2 Solid Solutions Grown onto Graphene Oxide (GO) as Selective Toluene Gas Sensors

The major drawback of oxide-based sensors is the lack of selectivity. In this context, SnxTi1- xO2/graphene oxide (GO)-based materials were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal route, varying the titanium content in the tin dioxide matrix. Then, toluene and acetone gas sensing performances of the as-prepared sensors were systematically investigated. Specifically, by using 32:1 SnO2/GO and 32:1 TiO2/GO, a greater selectivity towards acetone analyte, also at room temperature, was obtained even at ppb level. However, solid solutions possessing a higher content of tin relative to titanium (as 32:1 Sn0.55Ti0.45O2/GO) exhibited higher selectivity towards bigger and non-polar molecules (such as toluene) at 350 \ub0C, rather than acetone. A deep experimental investigation of structural (XRPD and Raman), morphological (SEM, TEM, BET surface area and pores volume) and surface (XPS analyses) properties allowed us to give a feasible explanation of the different selectivity. Moreover, by exploiting the UV light, the lowest operating temperature to obtain a significant and reliable signal was 250 \ub0C, keeping the greater selectivity to the toluene analyte. Hence, the feasibility of tuning the chemical selectivity by engineering the relative amount of SnO2 and TiO2 is a promising feature that may guide the future development of miniaturized chemoresistors

Skin contamination as pathway for nicotine intoxication in vapers

Growing warnings on health effects related to electronic cigarettes have met inconclusive findings at present. This study analyzed the in vitro percutaneous absorption of nicotine resulting by skin contamination with two e-liquids (refill 1 and 2) containing nicotine at 1.8%. Donor chambers of 6 Franz cells for each refill liquid were filled with 1 mL of nicotine e-liquid for 24 h; at selected intervals, 1.5 mL of the receptor solutions were collected for nicotine concentration analysis by mean gas chromatography\u2013mass spectrometry (LOD: 0.01 \u3bcg/mL). The experiment was repeated removing the nicotine donor solution after 10 min from the application and rinsing the skin surface three times with 3.0 mL of milliQ water. A total of 12 cells with 24 h exposure and 12 cells washed were studied. The mean concentration of nicotine in the receiving phase at the end of the experiment was 54.9 \ub1 29.5 and 30.2 \ub1 18.4 \u3bcg/cm2 for refill 1 and 2 respectively and significantly lower in washed cells (4.7 \ub1 2.4 and 3.5 \ub1 1.3 \u3bcg/cm2). The skin absorption of nicotine can lead to minor health illness in vapers, while caution must be paid to dermal contamination by e liquids in children. The skin cleaning significantly reduced the transdermal absorption kinetic and intradermal deposition of nicotine

Effects of Strain Rate on the TRIP–TWIP Transition of an Austenitic Fe-18Mn-2Si-2Al Steel

A fully austenitic Fe-18Mn-2Si-2Al transformation-induced plasticity (TRIP) steel was tensile tested from quasi-static to low-dynamic regime at three different strain rates: 4.7 × 10−4, 1.3 × 10−1, and 8.3 × 100 s−1. Typical two-stage transformation mechanism, TRIP γ → ε → α′, was observed for samples tested at 4.7 × 10−4 s−1. At higher strain rates, the increase in temperature due to adiabatic plastic work shifts the stacking fault energy (SFE) towards a twinning-induced plasticity–SFE-range modifying the mechanical behavior of the alloy. This change on the deformation mechanism leads to a lower work hardening capacity and a higher elongation to rupture in samples tested at 1.3 × 10−1 and 8.3 × 100 s−1. In this context, the alloy maintains its energy absorption capability with a maximum reduction of 3.6 pct according to the Rm × A parameter. The Md temperature, experimentally determined in the present study, proved to be a useful tool for understanding the material’s behavior.Fil: Raposo, Marcio Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Martín, M.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Giordana, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Fuster, Valeria de Los Angeles. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; ArgentinaFil: Malarria, Jorge Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario. Universidad Nacional de Rosario. Instituto de Física de Rosario; Argentin