Prosody in Simultaneous Interpretation: a Case Study for the German- Italian Language Pair

Prosody in simultaneous interpretation (SI) is a recent research field receiving increasing attention but still insufficiently explored for certain language pairs. The present contribution discusses the prosodic features of interpreted texts as such and in relation to the source text (ST) for the German-Italian language pair. The target texts (TTs) of six professional interpreters were transcribed and analysed according to the following analysis criteria: speech rate, pauses (filled and unfilled and their position in the text) and syllable lengthening, intonation and prominence. The objective of the study was to analyse the prosody of professional interpreters through the perceptual method, assessing the features of prosody as observed in interpreting practitioners. Since the ST is an example of impromptu speech, the study also aimed at understanding the role played by spontaneous speech in the interpreting process. The results concerning interpreters’ speech rate and intonation confirmed consolidated theories in SI, whereas categories such as pauses, stress on words and the sub-category of syllable lengthening raised new points, showing that some specific behaviour is intentionally produced by interpreters to deal with difficult portions of text through the use of prosodic features

The role of natural science collections in the biomonitoring of environmental contaminants in apex predators in support of the EU's zero pollution ambition

The chemical industry is the leading sector in the EU in terms of added value. However, contaminants pose a major threat and significant costs to the environment and human health. While EU legislation and international conventions aim to reduce this threat, regulators struggle to assess and manage chemical risks, given the vast number of substances involved and the lack of data on exposure and hazards. The European Green Deal sets a 'zero pollution ambition for a toxic free environment' by 2050 and the EU Chemicals Strategy calls for increased monitoring of chemicals in the environment. Monitoring of contaminants in biota can, inter alia: provide regulators with early warning of bioaccumulation problems with chemicals of emerging concern; trigger risk assessment of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances; enable risk assessment of chemical mixtures in biota; enable risk assessment of mixtures; and enable assessment of the effectiveness of risk management measures and of chemicals regulations overall. A number of these purposes are to be addressed under the recently launched European Partnership for Risk Assessment of Chemicals (PARC). Apex predators are of particular value to biomonitoring. Securing sufficient data at European scale implies large-scale, long-term monitoring and a steady supply of large numbers of fresh apex predator tissue samples from across Europe. Natural science collections are very well-placed to supply these. Pan-European monitoring requires effective coordination among field organisations, collections and analytical laboratories for the flow of required specimens, processing and storage of specimens and tissue samples, contaminant analyses delivering pan-European data sets, and provision of specimen and population contextual data. Collections are well-placed to coordinate this. The COST Action European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility provides a well-developed model showing how this can work, integrating a European Raptor Biomonitoring Scheme, Specimen Bank and Sampling Programme. Simultaneously, the EU-funded LIFE APEX has demonstrated a range of regulatory applications using cutting-edge analytical techniques. PARC plans to make best use of such sampling and biomonitoring programmes. Collections are poised to play a critical role in supporting PARC objectives and thereby contribute to delivery of the EU's zero-pollution ambition.Non peer reviewe

Occurrence and Quantification of Natural and Microplastic Items in Urban Streams: The Case of Mugnone Creek (Florence, Italy)

The terrestrial environment is an important contributor of microplastics (MPs) to the oceans. Urban streams, strictly interwoven in the city network and to the MPs’ terrestrial source, have a relevant impact on the MP budget of large rivers and, in turn, marine areas. We investigated the fluxes (items/day) of MPs and natural fibers of Mugnone Creek, a small stream crossing the highly urbanized landscape of Florence (Italy) and ending in the Arno River (and eventually to the Tyrrhenian Sea). Measurements were done in dry and wet seasons for two years (2019–2020); stream sediments were also collected in 2019. The highest loads of anthropogenic particles were observed in the 2019 wet season (109 items/day) at the creek outlet. The number of items in sediments increased from upstream (500 items/kg) to urban sites (1540 items/kg). Fibers were the dominant shape class; they were mostly cellulosic in composition. Among synthetic items, fragments of butadiene-styrene (SBR), indicative of tire wear, were observed. Domestic wastewater discharge and vehicular traffic are important sources of pollution for Mugnone Creek, especially during rain events. The study of small creeks is of pivotal importance to limit the availability of MPs in the environment

Occurrence and Quantification of Natural and Microplastic Items in Urban Streams: The Case of Mugnone Creek (Florence, Italy)

The terrestrial environment is an important contributor of microplastics (MPs) to the oceans. Urban streams, strictly interwoven in the city network and to the MPs’ terrestrial source, have a relevant impact on the MP budget of large rivers and, in turn, marine areas. We investigated the fluxes (items/day) of MPs and natural fibers of Mugnone Creek, a small stream crossing the highly urbanized landscape of Florence (Italy) and ending in the Arno River (and eventually to the Tyrrhenian Sea). Measurements were done in dry and wet seasons for two years (2019–2020); stream sediments were also collected in 2019. The highest loads of anthropogenic particles were observed in the 2019 wet season (109 items/day) at the creek outlet. The number of items in sediments increased from upstream (500 items/kg) to urban sites (1540 items/kg). Fibers were the dominant shape class; they were mostly cellulosic in composition. Among synthetic items, fragments of butadiene-styrene (SBR), indicative of tire wear, were observed. Domestic wastewater discharge and vehicular traffic are important sources of pollution for Mugnone Creek, especially during rain events. The study of small creeks is of pivotal importance to limit the availability of MPs in the environment

Determination of 56 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in top predators and their prey from Northern Europe by LC-MS/MS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of emerging substances that have proved to be persistent and highly bioaccumulative. They are broadly used in various applications and are known for their long-distance migration and toxicity. In this study, 65 recent specimens of a terrestrial apex predator (Common buzzard), freshwater and marine apex predators (Eurasian otter, harbour porpoise, grey seal, harbour seal) and their potential prey (bream, roach, herring, eelpout) from northern Europe (United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden) were analyzed for the presence of legacy and emerging PFAS, employing a highly sensitive liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) method. 56 compounds from 14 classes were measured; 13 perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), 7 perfluoroalkyl sulphonic acids (PFSAs), 3 perfluorooctane sulfonamides (FOSAs), 4 perfluoroalkylphosphonic acids (PFAPAs), 3 perfluoroalkylphosphinic acids (PFPi's), 5 telomer alcohols (FTOHs), 2 mono-substituted polyfluorinated phosphate esters (PAPs), 2 di-substituted polyfluorinated phosphate esters (diPAPs), 6 saturated fluorotelomer acids (FTAS), 3 unsaturated fluorotelomer acids (FTUAs), 2 N-Alkyl perfluorooctane sulfonamidoethanols (FOSEs), 3 fluorotelomer sulphonic acids (FTSAs), 2 perfluoroether carboxylic acids (PFECAs) and 1 chlorinated perfluoroether sulphonic acid (Cl-PFESA). All samples were lyophilized before analysis, in order to enhance extraction efficiency, improve the precision and achieve lower detection limits. The analytes were extracted from the dry matrices through generic methods of extraction, using an accelerated solvent extraction (ASE), followed by clean-up through solid phase extraction (SPE). Method detection limits and method quantification limits ranged from 0.02 to 1.25 ng/g wet weight (ww) and from 0.05 to 3.79 ng/g (ww), respectively. Recovery ranged from 40 to 137%. Method precision ranged from 3 to 20 %RSD. The sum of PFAS concentration in apex predators livers ranged from 0.2 to 20.2 μg/g (ww), whereas in the fish species muscle tissues it ranged from 16 to 325 ng/g (ww). All analyzed specimens were primarily contaminated with PFOS, while the three PFPi's included in this study exhibited frequency of appearance (FoA) 100 %. C9 to C13 PFCAs were found at high concentrations in apex predator livers, while the overall PFAS levels in fish fillets also exceeded ecotoxicological thresholds. The findings of our study show a clear association between the PFAS concentrations in apex predators and the geographical origin of the specimens, with samples that were collected in urban and agricultural zones being highly contaminated compared to samples from pristine or semi-pristine areas. The high variety of PFAS and the different PFAS composition in the apex predators and their prey (AP&P) samples is alarming and strengthens the importance of PFAS monitoring across the food chain

Assessment of contaminants of emerging concern in European apex predators and their prey by LC-QToF MS wide-scope target analysis

Apex predators are good indicators of environmental pollution since they are relatively long-lived and their high trophic position and spatiotemporal exposure to chemicals provides insights into the persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) properties of chemicals. Although monitoring data from apex predators can considerably support chemicals’ management, there is a lack of pan-European studies, and longer-term monitoring of chemicals in organisms from higher trophic levels. The present study investigated the occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in 67 freshwater, marine and terrestrial apex predators and in freshwater and marine prey, gathered from four European countries. Generic sample preparation protocols for the extraction of CECs with a broad range of physicochemical properties and the purification of the extracts were used. The analysis was performed utilizing liquid (LC) chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), while the acquired chromatograms were screened for the presence of more than 2,200 CECs through wide-scope target analysis. In total, 145 CECs were determined in the apex predator and their prey samples belonging in different categories, such as pharmaceuticals, plant protection products, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, their metabolites and transformation products. Higher concentration levels were measured in predators compared to prey, suggesting that biomagnification of chemicals through the food chain occurs. The compounds were prioritized for further regulatory risk assessment based on their frequency of detection and their concentration levels. The majority of the prioritized CECs were lipophilic, although the presence of more polar contaminants should not be neglected. This indicates that holistic analytical approaches are required to fully characterize the chemical universe of biota samples. Therefore, the present survey is an attempt to systematically investigate the presence of thousands of chemicals at a European level, aiming to use these data for better chemicals management and contribute to EU Zero Pollution Ambition

Assessment of contaminants of emerging concern in European apex predators and their prey by LC-QToF MS wide-scope target analysis

Apex predators are good indicators of environmental pollution since they are relatively long-lived and their high trophic position and spatiotemporal exposure to chemicals provides insights into the persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) properties of chemicals. Although monitoring data from apex predators can considerably support chemicals’ management, there is a lack of pan-European studies, and longer-term monitoring of chemicals in organisms from higher trophic levels. The present study investigated the occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in 67 freshwater, marine and terrestrial apex predators and in freshwater and marine prey, gathered from four European countries. Generic sample preparation protocols for the extraction of CECs with a broad range of physicochemical properties and the purification of the extracts were used. The analysis was performed utilizing liquid (LC) chromatography coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), while the acquired chromatograms were screened for the presence of more than 2,200 CECs through wide-scope target analysis. In total, 145 CECs were determined in the apex predator and their prey samples belonging in different categories, such as pharmaceuticals, plant protection products, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, their metabolites and transformation products. Higher concentration levels were measured in predators compared to prey, suggesting that biomagnification of chemicals through the food chain occurs. The compounds were prioritized for further regulatory risk assessment based on their frequency of detection and their concentration levels. The majority of the prioritized CECs were lipophilic, although the presence of more polar contaminants should not be neglected. This indicates that holistic analytical approaches are required to fully characterize the chemical universe of biota samples. Therefore, the present survey is an attempt to systematically investigate the presence of thousands of chemicals at a European level, aiming to use these data for better chemicals management and contribute to EU Zero Pollution Ambition

Misure critiche. Nuova Serie. A. 19, n. 1-2 (2020)

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