1,720,982 research outputs found
Drinking water contamination from perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): An ecological mortality study in the Veneto Region, Italy
No full textBackground Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a heterogeneous group of highly stable man-made chemicals, have been widely used since 1960s and can be detected almost ubiquitously in all environmental matrices. In Italy, on January 2014, drinking water contamination in an area of the Veneto Region was detected mainly due to the drain of fluorinated chemicals by a manufacturing company operating since 1964. Methods The present ecological mortality study was aimed at comparing mortality for some causes of death selected on the basis of previous reported associations, during the period 1980-2013, in municipalities with PFAS contaminated and uncontaminated drinking water on the basis of the levels indicated by the Italian National Health Institute (ISS). Sex-specific number, standardized mortality rates and rate ratios (RR) for PFAS contaminated and uncontaminated areas were computed for each cause of death through the ENEA epidemiological database. Results In both sexes, statistically significant RRs were detected for all causes mortality, diabetes, cerebrovascular diseases, myocardial infarction and Alzheimer's disease. In females, RRs significantly higher than 1.0 were also observed for kidney and breast cancer, and Parkinson's disease. Increased risk, although not statistically significant, was observed for bladder cancer in both sexes, and for testicular cancer, pancreatic cancer and leukemia in males only. Conclusions Higher mortality levels for some causes of death, possibly associated with PFAS exposure, were detected in contaminated municipalities in comparison with uncontaminated ones with similar socioeconomic status and smoking habits. These results warrant further individual level analytic studies to delineate casual associations. © 2015 The Author
Assessing ozone and nitrogen impact on net primary productivity with a Generalised non-Linear Model
No full textSome studies suggest that in Europe the majority of forest growth increment can be accounted for N deposition and very little by elevated CO2. High ozone (O3) concentrations cause reductions in carbon fixation in native plants by offsetting the effects of elevated CO2 or N deposition. The cause-effect relationships between primary productivity (NPP) of Quercus cerris, Q. ilex and Fagus sylvatica plant species and climate and pollutants (O3 and N deposition) in Italy have been investigated by application of Generalised Linear/non-Linear regression model (GLZ model). The GLZ model highlighted: i) cumulative O3 concentration-based indicator (AOT40F) did not significantly affect NPP; ii) a differential action of oxidised and reduced nitrogen depositions to NPP was linked to the geographical location; iii) the species-specific variation of NPP caused by combination of pollutants and climatic variables could be a potentially important drive-factor for the plant species' shift as response to the future climate change. © 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd
Ozone exposure affects tree defoliation in a continental climate
No full textGround-level ozone (O3) affects trees through visible leaf injury, accelerating leaf senescence, declining foliar chlorophyll content, photosynthetic activity, growth, carbon sequestration, predisposing to pests attack and a variety of other physiological effects. Tree crown defoliation is one of the most important parameters that is representative of forest health and vitality. Effects of air pollution on forests have been investigated through manipulative experiments that are not representative of the real environmental conditions observed in the field. In this work we investigated the role of O3 concentration and other metrics (AOT40 and POD0) in affecting crown defoliation in temperate Romanian forests. The impacts of O3 were estimated in combination with nitrogen pollutants, climatic factors and orographic conditions, by applying a non-linear modelling approach (Random Forest and Generalised Regression Models). Ozone concentration and AOT40 under Romanian conditions were more important than meteorological parameters in affecting crown defoliation. In these particular conditions, POD0 never exceeded the critical level suggested by previous literature for forest protection, and thus was not important in affecting crown defoliation. © 2017 Elsevier B.V
Future impacts of nitrogen deposition and climate change scenarios on forest crown defoliation
No full textDefoliation is an indicator for forest health in response to several stressors including air pollutants, and one of the most important parameters monitored in the International Cooperative Programme on Assessment and Monitoring of Air Pollution Effects on Forests (ICP Forests). The study aims to estimate crown defoliation in 2030, under three climate and one nitrogen deposition scenarios, based on evaluation of the most important factors (meteorological, nitrogen deposition and chemical soil parameters) affecting defoliation of twelve European tree species. The combination of favourable climate and nitrogen fertilization in the more adaptive species induces a generalized decrease of defoliation. On the other hand, severe climate change and drought are main causes of increase in defoliation in Quercus ilex and Fagus sylvatica, especially in Mediterranean area. Our results provide information on regional distribution of future defoliation, an important knowledge for identifying policies to counteract negative impacts of climate change and air pollution. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Corrosion on cultural heritage buildings in Jordan in current situation and in future climate scenarios
Get PDFThis study examines the impact of air pollution on Jordan’s cultural heritage sites, focusing on key pollutants (SO2, HNO3, O3, PM10) and climate conditions. Using 2019 data and future projections for 2040–2059 and 2080–2099, the research reveals significant material corrosion in urban areas like Amman and Irbid, driven by pollutants such as SO2 and PM10. Random Forest Analysis identifies these pollutants as primary contributors to material degradation. Future scenarios indicate corrosion rates exceeding safe limits across Jordan, underscoring the need for proactive conservation strategies. This work highlights the critical role of air quality management in protecting cultural heritage, especially under climate change pressures, and provides guidance for national policy development
Impacts of air pollution on cultural heritage corrosion at European level: What has been achieved and what are the future scenarios
No full textThe interaction of pollutants with Cultural Heritage materials leads to artworks and materials degradation and loss, causing an unpriceless damage. This works aims to estimate the impacts of air pollution and meteorological conditions on limestone, copper and bronze and represents the European risk assessment for corrosion of Cultural Heritage materials. The measures and policies for atmospheric pollution reduction have cut off the SO2 concentration and consequently its impact on materials is drastically reduced. Indeed, in 1980 the number of UNESCO sites in danger was extremely high (94% for limestone, 54% for copper and 1% for bronze) while in 2010 these sites did not exceed the tolerable value of surface recession and corrosion. However, some problem related to air pollution persists. In particular, Random Forest Analysis (RFA), highlights PM10 as the main responsible for materials corrosion, in 2010. Two scenarios in 2030 have been tested, highlighting that the corrosion levels of limestone, copper and bronze exceed the tolerable limits only in the Balkan area and Turkey. Our results show the importance in the air quality modelling as a powerful tool for the UNESCO sites conservation. © 2016 Elsevier Lt
Ambient noise measurements on the earth dam at Bomba, Italy
No full textThe experimental organization and some preliminary results of a work in progress aimed at the dynamic characterization of the earth dam at Bomba (Chieti, Italy) are presented in this paper. The straight dam has a height of 57.5 m and a length equal to 681 m. The experimental studies include ambient vibration measurements using short-period seismic sensors, which are shown in this paper, ground base interferometry, installation and measurement of a local GPS network, spot ambient noise measurement with a compact SL06 SARA triaxial short period seismometer. Two different sensor layouts were realized. The first layout consisted of eight triaxial points of measurement, four along the crest of the dam, along its geometric axis, and four along the downstream slope. The second layout was intended to study the right abutment close to which there is a landslide; it was made of eight triaxial points of measurement, three on the crest close to the right abutment, one on the abutment and four along the front of the landslide, almost orthogonal to the dam. For each layout a 30 min recording at 200 sps was performed. Data were analyzed in time domain, amplitude in terms of RMS, and in frequency domain by means of cross spectral analysis. Recordings of layout 1 showed that the motion of the dam body, limited to the narrow range 0.3-0.5 Hz and dominating frequencies 0.37 and 0.42 Hz, is equivalent, in terms of amplitude in time and in frequency content, along the three directions, i.e. deformation is along a direction not orthogonal to the dam. The analysis of layout 2 pointed out that the motion, limited to the narrow range 0.3-0.75 Hz and dominating frequency 0.62 Hz, is equivalent, in terms of amplitude in time and in frequency content, along the three directions; for the frequency 0.62 Hz a change in direction, from orthogonal to longitudinal to the dam, is observed from the dam body to the right abutment. © 2015, International Society for Structural Health Monitoring of Intelligent Infrastructure, ISHMII. All rights reserved
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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