Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. in lakes and groundwaters of Campania Region, Italy [Sulla diffusione di Giardia spp. e Cryptosporidium spp. in acque lacustri e telluriche della Campania]

This paper presents the results of a survey on the occurence of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts in lakes and groundwaters of Volturno watershed in Campania Region, Italy. A total of 23 samples from 5 lakes and 13 wells were analyzed in the period June-December 1997 using the UK standard methodology (Standing Committee of Analysts, Department of Environment, Drinking Water Inspectorate). The results showed that both protozoa are widely dispersed in the lakes, particularly in the fall, and that the potential for Giardia and Cryptosporidium contamination of groundwaters is real. The Authors conclude outlining the need to develop appropriate control strategies and preventive programs in communities using groundwater sources as drinking water

A continuous stable isotope record from the penultimate glacial maximum to the Last Interglacial (159–121 ka) from Tana Che Urla Cave (Apuan Alps, central Italy)

Relatively few radiometrically dated records are available for the central Mediterranean spanning the marine oxygen isotope stage 6–5 (MIS 6–5) transition and the first part of the Last Interglacial. Two flowstone cores from Tana che Urla Cave (TCU, central Italy), constrained by 19 U/Th ages, preserve an interval of continuous speleothem deposition between ca. 159 and 121 ka. A multiproxy record (δ18O, δ13C, growth rate and petrographic changes) obtained fromthis flowstone preserves significant regional-scale hydrological changes through the glacial/interglacial transition and multi-centennial variability (interpreted as alternations between wetter and drier periods) within both glacial and interglacial stages. The glacial stage shows a wetter period between ca. 154 and 152 ka, while the early to middle Last Interglacial period shows several drying events at ca. 129, 126 and 122 ka, which can be placed in the wider context of climatic instability emerging from North Atlantic marine andNWEuropean terrestrial records. The TCU record also provides important insights into the evolution of local environmental conditions (i.e. soil development) in response to regional and global-scale climate events.Published450-4614A. Clima e OceaniJCR Journalrestricte

Air vitiation effects in scramjet engines

Vitiation is one of the major sources of uncertainty in testing combustors. In fact, in real flight conditions, there is no water in the air entering the combustion chamber, whereas the air entering the test model contains water and radicals. This makes extrapolation to flight difficult. As the total pressure required for engine testing is high, typically 10 MPa for Mach 8 flight conditions, a vitiation air heater burning fuels is required to increase the air enthalpy. Since the arc heaters become unstable under high pressure operations, they are not suitable for heating air for supersonic engine wind tunnels. In spite of such limitations, these vitiation air heaters are the only options available for driving engine wind tunnels. In this work, the chemical inhibition effect on flame temperature and ignition due to OH and H20 has been numerically investigated by means of the 2D RANS of the LAPCAT 2 European MR2 scramjet. Finally, theoretically laws have been proposed for the ground to flight data extrapolation