Improved time-resolved measurements of inorganic ions in particulate matter by PILS-IC integrated with a sample pre-concentration system

A particle-into-liquid sampler coupled with ion chromatograph (PILS-IC) for the on-line measurement of inorganic ions has been modified by the insertion of two ion-exchange pre-concentration cartridges that enrich the sample during the period of the IC analysis. The limits of detection of the modified instrument were 10-15 times lower and the time coverage 24 times higher (from 2 to 48 min per hour) than those of the original PILS-IC setup. The instrumental performance in terms of recovery and break-through volume from the cartridges was satisfactory. The modified PILS-IC was operated in comparison with a diffusion denuder line and with a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS) during a short intensive measurement period organized in the framework of the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP), a co-operative program for monitoring and evaluation of the long-range transmission of the air pollutants in Europe. The instrument showed a quantitative response in agreement with the results of the diffusion lines, and an ability to trace fine concentration variations not so different from the performance of the much more complex HR-TOF-AMS. From the time patterns of the ion concentrations measured by the modified PILS-IC, it was possible to obtain useful information about the variations in the air quality and in the strength of the particulate matter sourc

NDVI Analysis for Monitoring Land-Cover Evolution on Selected Deglaciated Areas in the Gran Paradiso Group (Italian Western Alps)

The ongoing climate warming is affecting high-elevation areas, reducing the extent and the duration of glacier and snow covers, driving a widespread greening effect on the Alpine region. The impact assessment requires therefore the integration of the geomorphological context with altitudinal and ecological features of the study areas. The proposed approach introduces chronologically-constrained zones as geomorphological evidence for selecting deglaciated areas in the alpine and non-alpine belts. In the present study, the protected and low-anthropic-impacted areas of the Gran Paradiso Group (Italian Western Alps) were analysed using Landsat NDVI time series (1984–2022 CE). The obtained results highlighted a progressive greening even at a higher altitude, albeit not ubiquitous. The detected NDVI trends showed, moreover, how the local factors trigger the greening in low-elevation areas. Spectral reflectance showed a general decrease over time, evidencing the progressive colonisation of recently deglaciated surfaces. The results improved the discrimination between different greening rates in the deglaciated areas of the Alpine regions. The geomorphological-driven approach showed significant potential to support the comprehension of these processes, especially for fast-changing areas such as the high mountain regions

Redox stress proteins are involved in adaptation response of the hyperthermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus to nickel challenge

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exposure to nickel (Ni) and its chemical derivatives has been associated with severe health effects in human. On the contrary, poor knowledge has been acquired on target physiological processes or molecular mechanisms of this metal in model organisms, including Bacteria and Archaea. In this study, we describe an analysis focused at identifying proteins involved in the recovery of the archaeon <it>Sulfolobus solfataricus </it>strain MT4 from Ni-induced stress.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To this purpose, <it>Sulfolobus solfataricus </it>was grown in the presence of the highest nickel sulphate concentration still allowing cells to survive; crude extracts from treated and untreated cells were compared at the proteome level by using a bi-dimensional chromatography approach. We identified several proteins specifically repressed or induced as result of Ni treatment. Observed up-regulated proteins were largely endowed with the ability to trigger recovery from oxidative and osmotic stress in other biological systems. It is noteworthy that most of the proteins induced following Ni treatment perform similar functions and a few have eukaryal homologue counterparts.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings suggest a series of preferential gene expression pathways activated in adaptation response to metal challenge.</p

Dispersing hydrophilic nanoparticles in hydrophobic polymers: HDPE/ZnO nanocomposites by a novel template-based approach

The efficiency of a novel template-based approach for the dispersion of hydrophilic nanoparticles within hydrophobic polymer matrices is investigated. The procedure envisages the permeation of a well dispersed nanoparticle suspension inside a micro-porous matrix, obtained through selective extraction of a sacrificial phase from a finely interpenetrated co-continuous polymer blend. Specifically, a blend of high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyethylene oxide (PEO) at 50/50 wt% is prepared by melt mixing. The addition of small amounts of organo-clay promotes the necessary refinement of the blend morphology. Once removed the PEO, the micro-porous HDPE matrix is dipped in a colloidal suspension of zinc oxide nanoparticles which exhibits low interfacial tension with HDPE. A system prepared by traditional melt mixing is used as reference. Melt- and solid-state viscoelastic measurements reveal a good quality of the filler dispersion despite the uneven distribution on micro-scale. The latter can be capitalized to minimize the filler content to attain a certain improvement of the material properties or to design nano-structured polymer composites. © BME-PT

Productive Performance and Meat Characteristics of Kids Fed a Red Orange and Lemon Extract

This study evaluates the animal performance and meat characteristics of 60 Saanen suckling kids daily fed a red orange and lemon extract (RLE), rich in anthocyanins. In our methodology, after colostrum administration, animals are randomly assigned to two treatments: Treatment group (Group RLE; n = 30) that received RLE (90 mg/kg live body weight) as oral food additive, and a control group (Group CON; n = 30) that received a standard diet. Animals are slaughtered after 40 days. The RLE administration did not influence daily weight gain, carcass measurements, or incidences (expressed as a percentage) of different anatomical regions on the whole carcass weight. On the contrary, RLE supplementation significantly improved the oxidative profile of the meat seven days after slaughtering, as demonstrated by the reduced levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS; p &lt; 0.01) and hydroperoxides (p &lt; 0.01) in Group RLE compared to Group CON. A significant influence of RLE administration is observed on day 7 for yellowness (p &lt; 0.01). There are also lower saturated and higher monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids concentration in Group RLE meat (p &lt; 0.01), which also shows lower atherogenic and thrombogenic indexes (p &lt; 0.01) compared to Group CON. The study demonstrates that the supplementation of a diet with RLE rich in anthocyanins is effective to improve the meat quality

PMCA-based detection of prions in the olfactory mucosa of patients with Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder caused by the conformational conversion of the prion protein (PrPC) into an abnormally folded form, named prion (or PrPSc). The combination of the polymorphism at codon 129 of the PrP gene (coding either methionine or valine) with the biochemical feature of the proteinase-K resistant PrP (generating either PrPSc type 1 or 2) gives rise to different PrPSc strains, which cause variable phenotypes of sCJD. The definitive diagnosis of sCJD and its classification can be achieved only post-mortem after PrPSc identification and characterization in the brain. By exploiting the Real-Time Quaking-Induced Conversion (RT-QuIC) assay, traces of PrPSc were found in the olfactory mucosa (OM) of sCJD patients, thus demonstrating that PrPSc is not confined to the brain. Here, we have optimized another technique, named protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) for detecting PrPSc in OM samples of sCJD patients. OM samples were collected from 27 sCJD and 2 genetic CJD patients (E200K). Samples from 34 patients with other neurodegenerative disorders were included as controls. Brains were collected from 26 sCJD patients and 16 of them underwent OM collection. Brain and OM samples were subjected to PMCA using the brains of transgenic mice expressing human PrPC with methionine at codon 129 as reaction substrates. The amplified products were analyzed by Western blot after proteinase K digestion. Quantitative PMCA was performed to estimate PrPSc concentration in OM. PMCA enabled the detection of prions in OM samples with 79.3% sensitivity and 100% specificity. Except for a few cases, a predominant type 1 PrPSc was generated, regardless of the tissues analyzed. Notably, all amplified PrPSc were less resistant to PK compared to the original strain. In conclusion, although the optimized PMCA did not consent to recognize sCJD subtypes from the analysis of OM collected from living patients, it enabled us to estimate for the first time the amount of prions accumulating in this biological tissue. Further assay optimizations are needed to faithfully amplify peripheral prions whose recognition could lead to a better diagnosis and selection of patients for future clinical trials

Automated observation of physical snowpack properties in Ny-Ålesund

The snow season in the Svalbard archipelago generally lasts 6–10 months a year and significantly impacts the regional climate, glaciers mass balance, permafrost thermal regime and ecology. Due to the lack of long-term continuous snowpack physical data, it is still challenging for the numerical snow physics models to simulate multi-layer snowpack evolution, especially for remote Arctic areas. To fill this gap, in November 2020, an automated nivometric station (ANS) was installed ∼1 km Southwest from the settlement of Ny-Ålesund (Spitzbergen, Svalbard), in a flat area over the lowland tundra. It automatically provides continuous snow data, including NIR images of the fractional snow-cover area (fSCA), snow depth (SD), internal snow temperature and liquid water content (LWC) profiles at different depths with a 10 min time resolution. Here we present the first-year record of automatic snow preliminary measurements collected between November 2020 and July 2021 together with weekly manual observations for comparison. The snow season at the ANS site lasted for 225 days with an annual net accumulation of 117 cm (392 mm of water equivalent). The LWC in the snowpack was generally low (&lt;4%) during wintertime, nevertheless, we observed three snow-melting events between November and February 2021 and one in June 2021, connected with positive temperature and rain on snow events (ROS). In view of the foreseen future developments, the ANS is the first automated, comprehensive snowpack monitoring system in Ny-Ålesund measuring key essential climate variables needed to understand the seasonal evolution of the snow cover on land