TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS FOR FRAILTY SUBJECTS

The contribution addresses the problem of the use of educational technologies for inclusive purposes at school in the Italian context. Inclusive education is implemented in different ways in different contexts and varies with national policies and priorities, which in turn are influenced by a whole range of social, cultural, historical and political issues. Technologies have considerable potential that helps teachers to support pupils with disabilities and inclusion processes at school. The opportunity for interaction, collaboration and mediation offered by assistive technologies benefits the fragile student, but also the entire class, which can be supported in some learning processes through the adoption of specific devices. The article also emphasizes the use of ICT facilitators for pupils with special needs with the aim of implementing the principles of equality, diversity and inclusive education.  Article visualizations

Microanalytical characterization of decorations in handmade ancient floor tiles using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).

In this study a total of 114 glazed decorations of 42 ceramic floor tiles, manufactured in Sicily fromthe 16th to 19 the 21th AD, were investigated. The micro sampling method, proposed by us, using a cotton swab soaked in hydrofluoric acid, includes advantages of high sensitivity, high selectivity, simplicity, speed, not expensive and can be considered non-destructive because the point of sampling remains invisible to the human eye. ICP-OES technique was used in this study. Twenty-four elements (Al, As, B, Be, Ba, Ca, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Si, Sn, Ti, V and Zn) were determined in each colored enamel. Enameled decorations in Sicilian tiles were varied in tones and chromatic effects, obtained with a limited 25 number compounds of cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, tin, and in the artifacts following the year 1920, also titanium. An important remark is that some of the colors, such as black, orange, purple and brown were prepared using the same metals, while white, light blue, blue and green were obtained with different elements. The adoption of different recipes for the same color suggests the presence of several laboratories of ceramists working in Sicily who had preferences for different methods for the production of their enameled artifacts. Concerning the opacifier, the high amounts of lead and antimony, only in a case, indicate the use of lead antimonate (Pb2Sb2O7). Black decorations were present in several of the analyzed samples and in most of them were identified mixtures of black iron and manganese oxides. The green decorations appear to have been prepared with copper oxide; lighter hue samples contained additional amounts of zinc and/ or barium compounds. Considering all the samples, meanly, iron predominates in yellow decorations, only a sample contains large amounts of Cd, Zn and very little Sb, which suggests the use of the pigments ZnO as white) and CdS as cadmium yellow. For all samples, except one, we can exclude the use of pigments containing chromium

A Short Review of Simple Analytical Methods for the Evaluation of PAHs and PAEs as Indoor Pollutants in House Dust Samples

Studies on indoor air quality are indispensable when considering that people spend approximately 85% of their time in confined environments. This short review mostly takes into consideration research that uses passive samplers to evaluate the quality of indoor environments (houses, school, cars, etc.). This short review summarizes most analytical methods to detect and quantify PAHs and PAEs in house dust used as a passive sampler. The objective of house dust analysis is to identify the presence, amount and distribution of specific hazardous substances in confined spaces and, if possible, to identify their sources. Household dust and the compounds present in it can enter the human body by inhalation, non-food ingestion and absorption through the skin. The observed differences in concentrations of house dust may also indicate important differences in the chemical and physical nature of pollutants caused by air filtration and absorption during the migration of ambient air into the indoor environment

Analytical Method for Quantification of Several Phthalate Acid Esters by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry in Coffee Brew Samples

Several phthalate acid esters (PAEs), often called phthalate esters or phthalates, are substances classified as harmful due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic properties, and moreover, as dangerous for humans because they interfere with the endocrine system. In general, phthalic esters are used as plasticizers for different polymers and more other consumer products. In the present study, we describe a simple method to quantify PAEs in coffee brew using a liquid-liquid extraction without purification processes through analysing the obtained organic phase by GCMS in the single ion monitoring mode. The totals of single PAEs, in coffee brew samples analysed by us, are in the range of 159-5305 mu g L-1. Considering that, on average, a person drinks three cups (total 90 mL) of the aforementioned drink per day, this will lead to the uptake of a total 14 to 477 mu g of phthalates

The PAH composition in limpets (Patella vulgate L.) from the coasts of Sicily (Italy)

This article examines the presence, distribution, nature and sources of 19 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH), in Patellae (patella vulgate L.) and seaweed (vulva) sampled in different stations of Sicilian coastal environments and analyzed for their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) content. Analysis was performed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with selected ion monitoring (SIM), after saponification of the sample and clean up of the extract. In the limpets the total concentration of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ranged from 34 to 750 μg/Kg of dry matrix. The relative standard deviation (RSD) of the replicas on the concentrations of individual compounds ranged from 4 to 20%. The accuracy of method was estimated by analyzing "blank" samples spiked with known quantities of analytes and the recover percentage was 82 ± 12%. The detection limit (LOD) of analytical procedure was less than 0.2 μg/Kg d.w. for all analytes. The quantification limit (LOQ) of analytical procedure was less 0.7 μg/Kg d.w. The resulting distributions and weight ratios of specific compounds are discussed in terms of sampling location and origin. The results obtained show that levels of contamination vary from one sampling station to the next, while relative distributions of PAH is homogeneous in most stations. Lipidic content and total PAH concentrations were found not to be correlated and the compounds present in limpets were shown to be mainly of petrogenic origin. There is no evidence of coal-tar contamination. Copyright © 2006 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

Quantification of Platinum in Edible Mushrooms Using Voltammetric Techniques

Edible mushrooms are a food source with interesting nutritional values. The chief objective of this research was to develop a consistent method for the quantitative ultra-trace analysis of Pt in mushrooms, which is complex because it cannot be readily quantified by common analytical procedures. This research is one of the first analytical methods to establish Pt amount in these vegetables. In this research, 28 different edible mushroom samples from Italy were investigated. Determination of Pt in mushrooms was completed using Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV). In this study, we applied the standard addition method because there are no certified reference mushrooms containing platinum group elements on the market. The platinum quantification limit was 0.03 µg kg−1 d.w. In the analyzed samples, platinum amount was in the range of 0.03–73 µg kg−1 . Our mushroom samples had a Pt content lower than the concentrations recommended by international establishments for other foodstuffs. In the future, the optimized method could be used for the analysis of plant and animal matrices intended for food supply

Photochemical sample treatment for extracts clean up in PCB analysis from sediments

Sample purification can be considered the most polluting step of the whole analytical process for PCBs determination in sediment samples. The use of photochemical sample treatment represents an alternative methodology for extracts clean up allowing for a reduction of the used amount of organic solvents. The first application of a photochemical sample treatment for the selective removal or reduction of organic substances interfering with PCBs analyses in sediments is reported. The method's efficiency and robustness were compared with currently used chromatographic purification. Quality parameters such as recovery, linearity and reproducibility were studied. The entire procedure was validated by four replicate analysis of certified reference sediment. The quantification limits (LOQ) obtained by us ranged from 1 to 3.1 ng g(-1). The RSD for each congener was below 15\% and recoveries were in the range 40-130\%. Results based on the analysis of real and certified samples showed similar or improved detection thresholds and pointed out the advantages of the photochemical methodology in terms of costs and environmental friendly conditions. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Formaldehyde and total aldehydes in indoor air of public environments by voltammetry

The proposed method involves active sampling, where a sampling pump is used to pull air through a solution and voltammetric analysis of the obtained solutions. No interferences have been observed. In addition, very little sample preparation is required. Analyses were performed in 19 indoor stations and one in outdoor. Measurements were carried out on University environments: Museum of Chemistry, Zoological Museum, libraries, laboratories, corridors, meeting rooms, photocopying room, machine shop and terrace. Formaldehyde concentrations in analyzed samples ranged from 2.6 to 85 μg m-3 (median = 32 μg m-3), while the sum of others aldehydes ranged from 2 to 25 μg m-3 (median =2.4 μg m-3). In the sample Zoological Museum 2, the sum of other aldehydes was very high (400 μg m-3). The results demonstrated that artificial ventilation is an efficient system to control indoor air pollution caused by aldehydes emissions