Search

Macrocyclic lactones (MLs) are the cornerstone of parasite control in livestock due to their broad-spectrum activity against endo (nematodes) and ecto (lice, ticks, mites) parasites. These molecules, introduced into the veterinary pharmaceutical market 40 years ago, have substantially improved animal welfare and productivity by offering extended high efficacy, reducing treatment frequency, and displaying a favorable safety profile. However, their widespread and intensive use has led to a significant challenge nowadays: the development of parasite resistance. This review focuses on the critical link between drug pharmacokinetics (variation in concentration profiles and exposure over time) and pharmacodynamics (drug efficacy) and the ability of both avermectin and milbemycin MLs families to control livestock ectoparasites. This review discusses the integrated assessment of drug behavior in the host, its diffusion into target parasites, and the impact of different pharmaceutical formulations on enhancing drug delivery to infection sites. These are considered critical research/development areas to optimize the use of MLs, preventing treatment failures and finally extending the lifespan of these essential pharmaceutical ingredients. Finally, the importance of the rational use of MLs, guided by parasite epidemiology and pharmacological knowledge, is emphasized as a key strategy to preserve the antiparasitic efficacy of these still very useful molecules.

Introduction and Objectives: Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) encompass a heterogeneous group of parenchymal lung disorders which have a significant burden on quality of life and exercise. The primary purpose of this randomised pilot trial performed in advanced ILD was to determine the feasibility and efficacy of a multidisciplinary palliative care approach (including physiotherapist, psychologist, pulmonologists, and palliative care doctors) to relieve patients’ symptoms of dyspnoea, depression measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CES-D) scale and quality-of-life (QoL) at 6 and 12 months. Matherials and Methods: Fifty patients with confirmed interstitial lung disease at computed tomography (CT) scan and advanced disease were enrolled at our clinic. Patients were randomised to usual care group vs intervention group; in the intervention group, patients were scheduled to meet a physiotherapist, a psychologist, a palliative care doctor, and a pulmonologist specialized in ILD care. Data on dyspnoea, cough, quality of life and depression were recorded; patients in the intervention group were also tested to assess lower body flexibility and strength. Results: Both groups showed a worsening in dyspnoea during the time course of the trial, but the Borg scale was less in the intervention group at 6 and 12 months. A similar trend was observed also for the CES-D scale. No differences were observed for the other scales. Conclusions: A multi-disciplinary palliative care intervention in patients with advanced fibrosing interstitial lung disease is feasible and effective. Trial registration: NCT02929966 on ClinGovTrial.

To control the spread of COVID-19, exceptional restrictive measures were taken in March 2020 that imposed a radical change on the lifestyle of millions of citizens around the world, albeit for a short period. The national lockdown, which lasted from 10 March to 18 May 2020 in Italy, was a unique opportunity to observe the variation in air quality in urban environments under conditions comprising almost total traffic restriction and a strong reduction in work activities. In this paper, the data from 17 urban monitoring sites in Tuscany are presented, and the PM and NO2 concentrations in the 2 months before the start of the lockdown and the 2 months after lockdown are compared with the corresponding months of the previous 3 years. The results show that the total loads of PM2.5 and PM10 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 and 10 µm, respectively) decreased, but they did not exhibit significant changes compared to previous years, whereas NO2 underwent a drastic reduction. For three of these sites, the chemical composition of the collected samples was measured using thermal–optical techniques, ion chromatography, and particle-induced X-ray emission analysis, and the application of multivariate positive matrix factorization analysis also allowed for PM10 source identification and apportionment. Using these analyses, it was possible to explain the low sensitivity of PM10 to the lockdown effects as being due to different, sometimes inverse, behaviors of the different sources that contribute to PM. The results clearly indicate a decline in pollution levels related to urban traffic and an increase in the concentration of sulfate for all sites during the lockdown period.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue analizar el impacto del control estratégico de Rhipicephalus microplus sobre la ganancia de peso de vaquillas Braford en el noreste de Argentina. Se realizaron dos experimentos con un diseño similar en localidades de Corrientes (Colonia Tabay) y Chaco (Colonia Benítez). Los distintos grupos de vaquillas fueron sujetos a esquemas de control estratégico que consistieron en la aplicación de tres o cuatro productos garrapaticidas entre agosto y diciembre, y se compararon el número de garrapatas y la ganancia diaria de peso (GDP) entre estos y un grupo testigo que no recibió garrapaticidas. En Colonia Tabay, en los dos grupos tratados con esquemas de control estratégico la GDP fue significativamente mayor que en el grupo testigo con mayor nivel de infestación con garrapatas. El grupo sujeto a control estratégico en Colonia Benítez también tuvo una GDP significativamente mayor que el grupo testigo. Las diferencias en las GDP entre los grupos de animales sujetos a control estratégico y aquellos mantenidos como grupos testigo fluctuó entre 0.09 y 0.149 kg/día. Para el período evaluado en este trabajo (nueve meses), la aplicación del control estratégico contra R. microplus implicó una ganancia diferencial con respecto a los grupos sin tratamientos de 29 y 42 kg en promedio en las vaquillas de Colonia Tabay y de 25 kg en aquellas de Colonia Benítez. De los resultados se desprende que la aplicación de esquemas de tratamientos estratégicos para controlar la infestación con R. microplus en el noreste de Argentina contribuye a disminuir significativamente la abundancia de garrapatas y posibilita obtener mejores ganancias de peso vivo en bovinos en crecimiento al prevenir altos niveles de parasitación en los animales.

In this paper, a new methodology coupling aerosol optical and chemical parameters in the same source apportionment study is reported. In addition to results on source contributions, this approach provides information such as estimates for the atmospheric absorption Ångström exponent (α) of the sources and mass absorption cross sections (MACs) for fossil fuel emissions at different wavelengths. A multi-time resolution source apportionment study using the Multilinear Engine (ME-2) was performed on a PM10 dataset with different time resolutions (24, 12, and 1 h) collected during two different seasons in Milan (Italy) in 2016. Samples were optically analysed by an in-house polar photometer to retrieve the aerosol absorption coefficient bap (in Mm−1) at four wavelengths (λ=405, 532, 635, and 780 nm) and were chemically characterized for elements, ions, levoglucosan, and carbonaceous components. The dataset joining chemically speciated and optical data was the input for the multi-time resolution receptor model; this approach was proven to strengthen the identification of sources, thus being particularly useful when important chemical markers (e.g. levoglucosan, elemental carbon) are not available. The final solution consisted of eight factors (nitrate, sulfate, resuspended dust, biomass burning, construction works, traffic, industry, aged sea salt); the implemented constraints led to a better physical description of factors and the bootstrap analysis supported the goodness of the solution. As for bap apportionment, consistent with what was expected, biomass burning and traffic were the main contributors to aerosol absorption in the atmosphere. A relevant feature of the approach proposed in this work is the possibility of retrieving a lot of other information about optical parameters; for example, in contrast to the more traditional approach used by optical source apportionment models, here we obtained source-dependent α values without any a priori assumption (α biomass burning =1.83 and α fossil fuels =0.80). In addition, the MACs estimated for fossil fuel emissions were consistent with literature values. It is worth noting that the approach presented here can also be applied using more common receptor models (e.g. EPA PMF instead of multi-time resolution ME-2) if the dataset comprises variables with the same time resolution as well as optical data retrieved by widespread instrumentation (e.g. an Aethalometer instead of in-house instrumentation).

In this study, the performance of two types of source apportionment models was evaluated by assessing the results provided by 40 different groups in the framework of an intercomparison organised by FAIRMODE WG3 (Forum for air quality modelling in Europe, Working Group 3). The evaluation was based on two performance indicators: z-scores and the root mean square error weighted by the reference uncertainty (RMSEu), with pre-established acceptability criteria. By involving models based on completely different and independent input data, such as receptor models (RMs) and chemical transport models (CTMs), the intercomparison provided a unique opportunity for their cross-validation. In addition, comparing the CTM chemical profiles with those measured directly at the source contributed to corroborate the consistency of the tested model results. The most commonly used RM was the US EPA- PMF version 5. RMs showed very good performance for the overall dataset (91% of z-scores accepted) while more difficulties were observed with the source contribution time series (72% of RMSEu accepted). Industrial activities proved to be the most difficult sources to be quantified by RMs, with high variability in the estimated contributions. In the CTMs, the sum of computed source contributions was lower than the measured gravimetric PM10 mass concentrations. The performance tests pointed out the differences between the two CTM approaches used for source apportionment in this study: brute force (or emission reduction impact) and tagged species methods. The sources meeting the z-score and RMSEu acceptability criteria tests were 50% and 86%, respectively. The CTM source contributions to PM10 were in the majority of cases lower than the RM averages for the corresponding source. The CTMs and RMs source contributions for the overall dataset were more comparable (83% of the z-scores accepted) than their time series (successful RMSEu in the range 25% - 34%). The comparability between CTMs and RMs varied depending on the source: traffic/exhaust and industry were the source categories with the best results in the RMSEu tests while the most critical ones were soil dust and road dust. The differences between RMs and CTMs source reconstructions confirmed the importance of cross validating the results of these two families of models. Keywords: Source apportionment, PM10, Receptor models, Chemical transport models, Intercomparison, Lens

The contribution of natural sources to ambient air particulate matter (PM) concentrations is often not considered; however, it may be significant for certain areas and during specific periods of the year. In the framework of the AIRUSE-LIFE+ project, state-of-the-art methods have been employed for assessing the contribution of major natural sources (African dust, sea salt and forest fires) to PM concentrations, in southern European urban areas. 24 h measurements of PM10 and PM2. 5 mass and chemical composition were performed over the course of a year in five cities: Porto, Barcelona, Milan, Florence and Athens. Net African dust and sea-salt concentrations were calculated based on the methodologies proposed by the EC (SEC 2011/208). The contribution of uncontrolled forest fires was calculated through receptor modelling. Sensitivity analysis with respect to the calculation of African dust was also performed, in order to identify major parameters affecting the estimated net dust concentrations. African dust contribution to PM concentrations was more pronounced in the eastern Mediterranean, with the mean annual relative contribution to PM10 decreasing from 21 % in Athens, to 5 % in Florence, and around 2 % in Milan, Barcelona and Porto. The respective contribution to PM2. 5 was calculated equal to 14 % in Athens and from 1.3 to 2.4 % in all other cities. High seasonal variability of contributions was observed, with dust transport events occurring at different periods in the western and eastern Mediterranean basin. Sea salt was mostly related to the coarse mode and also exhibited significant seasonal variability. Sea-salt concentrations were highest in Porto, with average relative contributions equal to 12.3 % for PM10. Contributions from uncontrolled forest fires were quantified only for Porto and were low on an annual basis (1.4 and 1.9 % to PM10 and PM2. 5, respectively); nevertheless, contributions were greatly increased during events, reaching 20 and 22 % of 24 h PM10 and PM2. 5 concentrations, respectively.

Particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters lower than 10 µm, (PM10) aerosol samples were collected during summer 2013 within the framework of the Chemistry and Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx) at two sites located north (Capo Granitola) and south (Lampedusa Island), respectively, of the main Mediterranean shipping route in the Straight of Sicily. The PM10 samples were collected with 12 h time resolutions at both sites. Selected metals, main anions, cations and elemental and organic carbon were determined. The evolution of soluble V and Ni concentrations (typical markers of heavy fuel oil combustion) was related to meteorology and ship traffic intensity in the Straight of Sicily, using a high-resolution regional model for calculation of back trajectories. Elevated concentration of V and Ni at Capo Granitola and Lampedusa are found to correspond with air masses from the Straight of Sicily and coincidences between trajectories and positions of large ships; the vertical structure of the planetary boundary layer also appears to play a role, with high V values associated with strong inversions and a stable boundary layer. The V concentration was generally lower at Lampedusa than at Capo Granitola V, where it reached a peak value of 40 ng m−3. Concentrations of rare earth elements (REEs), La and Ce in particular, were used to identify possible contributions from refineries, whose emissions are also characterized by elevated V and Ni amounts; refinery emissions are expected to display high La ∕ Ce and La ∕ V ratios due to the use of La in the fluid catalytic converter systems. In general, low La ∕ Ce and La ∕ V ratios were observed in the PM samples. The combination of the analyses based on chemical markers, air mass trajectories and ship routes allows us to unambiguously identify the large role of the ship source in the Straight of Sicily. Based on the sampled aerosols, ratios of the main aerosol species arising from ship emission with respect to V were estimated with the aim of deriving a lower limit for the total ship contribution to PM10. The estimated minimum ship emission contributions to PM10 were 2.0 µg m−3 at Lampedusa and 3.0 µg m−3 at Capo Granitola, corresponding with 11 and 8.6 % of PM10, respectively.

The AIRUSE-LIFE+ project aims at characterizing similarities and heterogeneities in particulate matter (PM) sources and contributions in urban areas from southern Europe. Once the main PMx sources are identified, AIRUSE aims at developing and testing the efficiency of specific and non-specific measures to improve urban air quality. This article reports the results of the source apportionment of PM10 and PM2.5 conducted at three urban background sites (Barcelona, Florence and Milan, BCN-UB, FI-UB and MLN-UB), one suburban background site (Athens, ATH-SUB) and one traffic site (Porto, POR-TR). After collecting 1047 PM10 and 1116 PM2.5 24 h samples during 12 months (from January 2013 on) simultaneously at the five cities, these were analysed for the contents of OC, EC, anions, cations, major and trace elements and levoglucosan. The USEPA PMF5 receptor model was applied to these data sets in a harmonized way for each city. The sum of vehicle exhaust (VEX) and non-exhaust (NEX) contributes between 3.9 and 10.8 µg m−3 (16–32 %) to PM10 and 2.3 and 9.4 µg m−3 (15–36 %) to PM2.5, although a fraction of secondary nitrate is also traffic-related but could not be estimated. Important contributions arise from secondary particles (nitrate, sulfate and organics) in PM2.5 (37–82 %) but also in PM10 (40–71 %), mostly at background sites, revealing the importance of abating gaseous precursors in designing air quality plans. Biomass burning (BB) contributions vary widely, from 14–24 % of PM10 in POR-TR, MLN-UB and FI-UB, 7 % in ATH-SUB, to 2.5, BB is the second most important source in MLN-UB (21 %) and in POR-TR (18 %), the third one in FI-UB (21 %) and ATH-SUB (11 %), but is again negligible (< 2 %) in BCN-UB. This large variability among cities is mostly due to the degree of penetration of biomass for residential heating. In Barcelona natural gas is very well supplied across the city and is used as fuel in 96 % of homes, while in other cities, PM levels increase on an annual basis by 1–9 µg m−3 due to biomass burning influence. Other significant sources are the following. – Local dust, 7–12 % of PM10 at SUB and UB sites and 19 % at the TR site, revealing a contribution from road dust resuspension. In PM2.5 percentages decrease to 2–7 % at SUB-UB sites and 15 % at the TR site. – Industry, mainly metallurgy, contributing 4–11 % of PM10 (5–12 % in PM2.5), but only at BCN-UB, POR-TR and MLN-UB. No clear impact of industrial emissions was found in FI-UB and ATH-SUB. – Natural contributions from sea salt (13 % of PM10 in POR-TR, but only 2–7 % in the other cities) and Saharan dust (14 % in ATH-SUB, but less than 4 % in the other cities). During high pollution days, the largest sources (i.e. excluding secondary aerosol factors) of PM10 and PM2.5 are VEX + NEX in BCN-UB (27–22 %) and POR-TR (31–33 %), BB in FI-UB (30–33 %) and MLN-UB (35–26 %) and Saharan dust in ATH-SUB (52–45 %). During those days, there are also quite important industrial contributions in BCN-UB (17–18 %) and local dust in POR-TR (28–20 %).

The Mediterranean Basin atmosphere is influenced by both strong natural and anthropogenic aerosol emissions and is also subject to important climatic forcings. Several programs have addressed the study of the Mediterranean basin; nevertheless important pieces of information are still missing. In this framework, PM10 samples were collected on a daily basis on the island of Lampedusa (35.5° N, 12.6° E; 45 m a.s.l.), which is far from continental pollution sources (the nearest coast, in Tunisia, is more than 100 km away). After mass gravimetric measurements, different portions of the samples were analyzed to determine the ionic content by ion chromatography (IC), the soluble metals by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES), and the total (soluble + insoluble) elemental composition by particle-induced x-ray emission (PIXE). Data from 2007 and 2008 are used in this study. The Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) model was applied to the 2-year long data set of PM10 mass concentration and chemical composition to assess the aerosol sources affecting the central Mediterranean basin. Seven sources were resolved: sea salt, mineral dust, biogenic emissions, primary particulate ship emissions, secondary sulfate, secondary nitrate, and combustion emissions. Source contributions to the total PM10 mass were estimated to be about 40 % for sea salt, around 25 % for mineral dust, 10 % each for secondary nitrate and secondary sulfate, and 5 % each for primary particulate ship emissions, biogenic emissions, and combustion emissions. Large variations in absolute and relative contributions are found and appear to depend on the season and on transport episodes. In addition, the secondary sulfate due to ship emissions was estimated and found to contribute by about one-third to the total sulfate mass. Results for the sea-salt and mineral dust sources were compared with estimates of the same contributions obtained from independent approaches, leading to an estimate of the water content bound to the sea salt in the marine source.

This study aims to determine the mineral contribution to PM10 in the central Mediterranean Sea, based on 7 yr of daily PM10 samplings made on the island of Lampedusa (35.5° N, 12.6° E). The chemical composition of the PM10 samples was determined by ion chromatography for the main ions, and, on selected samples, by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) for the total content of crustal markers. Aerosol optical depth measurements were carried out in parallel to the PM10 sampling. The average PM10 concentration at Lampedusa over the period June 2004–December 2010 is 31.5 μg m−3, with low interannual variability. The annual means are below the EU annual standard for PM10, but 9.9% of the total number of daily data exceeds the daily threshold value established by the European Commission for PM (50 μg m−3, European Community, EC/30/1999). The Saharan dust contribution to PM10 was derived by calculating the contribution of Al, Si, Fe, Ti, non-sea-salt (nss) Ca, nssNa, and nssK oxides in samples in which PIXE data were available. Cases in which crustal content exceeded the 75th percentile of the crustal oxide content distribution were identified as elevated dust events. Using this threshold, we obtained 175 events. Fifty-five elevated dust events (31.6%) displayed PM10 higher than 50 μg m−3, with dust contributing by 33% on average. The crustal contribution to PM10 has an annual average value of 5.42 μg m−3, and reaches a value as high as 67.9 μg m−3 (corresponding to 49% of PM10) during an intense Saharan dust event. The crustal content estimated from a single tracer, such as Al or Ca, is in good agreement with the one calculated as the sum of the metal oxides. Conversely, larger crustal contents are derived by applying the EU guidelines for demonstration and subtraction of exceedances in PM10 levels due to high background of natural aerosol. The crustal aerosol amount and contribution to PM10 showed a very small seasonal dependence; conversely, the dust columnar burden displays an evident annual cycle, with a strong summer maximum (monthly average aerosol optical depth at 500 nm up to 0.28 in June–August). We found that 71.3% of the dust events identified from optical properties over the atmospheric column display a high dust content at the ground level. Conversely, the remaining 28.7% of cases present a negligible or small impact on the surface aerosol composition due to the transport processes over the Mediterranean Sea, where dust frequently travels above the marine boundary layer, especially in summer. Based on backward trajectories, two regions, one in Algeria–Tunisia, and one in Libya, are identified as main source areas for intense dust episodes occurring mainly in autumn and winter. Data on the bulk composition of mineral aerosol arising from these two source areas are scarce; results on characteristic ratios between elements show somewhat higher values of Ca / Al and (Ca + Mg) / Fe (2.5 ± 1.0, and 4.7 ± 2.0, respectively) for Algeria–Tunisia than for Libyan origin (Ca / Al = 1.9 ± 0.7 and (Ca + Mg) / Fe = 3.3 ± 1.1).

This paper presents the summary of the key objectives, instrumentation and logistic details, goals, and initial scientific findings of the European Marie Curie Action SAPUSS project carried out in the western Mediterranean Basin (WMB) during September–October in autumn 2010. The key SAPUSS objective is to deduce aerosol source characteristics and to understand the atmospheric processes responsible for their generations and transformations – both horizontally and vertically in the Mediterranean urban environment. In order to achieve so, the unique approach of SAPUSS is the concurrent measurements of aerosols with multiple techniques occurring simultaneously in six monitoring sites around the city of Barcelona (NE Spain): a main road traffic site, two urban background sites, a regional background site and two urban tower sites (150 m and 545 m above sea level, 150 m and 80 m above ground, respectively). SAPUSS allows us to advance our knowledge sensibly of the atmospheric chemistry and physics of the urban Mediterranean environment. This is well achieved only because of both the three dimensional spatial scale and the high sampling time resolution used. During SAPUSS different meteorological regimes were encountered, including warm Saharan, cold Atlantic, wet European and stagnant regional ones. The different meteorology of such regimes is herein described. Additionally, we report the trends of the parameters regulated by air quality purposes (both gaseous and aerosol mass concentrations); and we also compare the six monitoring sites. High levels of traffic-related gaseous pollutants were measured at the urban ground level monitoring sites, whereas layers of tropospheric ozone were recorded at tower levels. Particularly, tower level night-time average ozone concentrations (80 ± 25 μg m−3) were up to double compared to ground level ones. The examination of the vertical profiles clearly shows the predominant influence of NOx on ozone concentrations, and a source of ozone aloft. Analysis of the particulate matter (PM) mass concentrations shows an enhancement of coarse particles (PM2.5–10) at the urban ground level (+64%, average 11.7 μg m−3) but of fine ones (PM1) at urban tower level (+28%, average 14.4 μg m−3). These results show complex dynamics of the size-resolved PM mass at both horizontal and vertical levels of the study area. Preliminary modelling findings reveal an underestimation of the fine accumulation aerosols. In summary, this paper lays the foundation of SAPUSS, an integrated study of relevance to many other similar urban Mediterranean coastal environment sites.

Hourly-resolved aerosol chemical speciation data can be a highly powerful tool to determine the source origin of atmospheric pollutants in urban environments. Aerosol mass concentrations of seventeen elements (Na, Mg, Al, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr and Pb) were obtained by time (1 h) and size (PM2.5 particulate matter < 2.5 μm) resolved aerosol samples analysed by Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) measurements. In the Marie Curie European Union framework of SAPUSS (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies), the approach used is the simultaneous sampling at two monitoring sites in Barcelona (Spain) during September–October 2010: an urban background site (UB) and a street canyon traffic road site (RS). Elements related to primary non-exhaust traffic emission (Fe, Cu), dust resuspension (Ca) and anthropogenic Cl were found enhanced at the RS, whereas industrial related trace metals (Zn, Pb, Mn) were found at higher concentrations at the more ventilated UB site. When receptor modelling was performed with positive matrix factorization (PMF), nine different aerosol sources were identified at both sites: three types of regional aerosols (regional sulphate (S) – 27%, biomass burning (K) – 5%, sea salt (Na-Mg) – 17%), three types of dust aerosols (soil dust (Al-Ti) – 17%, urban crustal dust (Ca) – 6%, and primary traffic non-exhaust brake dust (Fe-Cu) – 7%), and three types of industrial aerosol plumes-like events (shipping oil combustion (V-Ni) – 17%, industrial smelters (Zn-Mn) – 3%, and industrial combustion (Pb-Cl) – 5%, percentages presented are average source contributions to the total elemental mass measured). The validity of the PMF solution of the PIXE data is supported by very good correlations with external single particle mass spectrometry measurements. Some important conclusions can be drawn about the PM2.5 mass fraction simultaneously measured at the UB and RS sites: (1) the regional aerosol sources impact both monitoring sites at similar concentrations regardless their different ventilation conditions; (2) by contrast, local industrial aerosol plumes associated with shipping oil combustion and smelters activities have a higher impact on the more ventilated UB site; (3) a unique source of Pb-Cl (associated with combustion emissions) is found to be the major (82%) source of fine Cl in the urban agglomerate; (4) the mean diurnal variation of PM2.5 primary traffic non-exhaust brake dust (Fe-Cu) suggests that this source is mainly emitted and not resuspended, whereas PM2.5 urban dust (Ca) is found mainly resuspended by both traffic vortex and sea breeze; (5) urban dust (Ca) is found the aerosol source most affected by land wetness, reduced by a factor of eight during rainy days and suggesting that wet roads may be a solution for reducing urban dust concentrations.

The regular eastward drift of transboundary aerosol intrusions from the Asian mainland into the NW Pacific region has a pervasive impact on air quality in Japan, especially during springtime. Analysis of 24-h filter samples with Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), and hourly Streaker with Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) samples collected continuously for six weeks reveal the chemistry of successive waves of natural mineral desert dust ("Kosa") and metalliferous sulphatic pollutants arriving in western Japan during spring 2011. The main aerosol sources recognised by Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis of Streaker data are mineral dust and fresh sea salt (both mostly in the coarser fraction PM2.5–10), As-bearing sulphatic aerosol (PM0.1–2.5), metalliferous sodic particulate matter (PM) interpreted as aged, industrially contaminated marine aerosol, and ZnCu-bearing aerosols. Whereas mineral dust arrivals are typically highly transient, peaking over a few hours, sulphatic intrusions build up and decline more slowly, and are accompanied by notable rises in ambient concentrations of metallic trace elements such as Pb, As, Zn, Sn and Cd. The magnitude of the loss in regional air quality due to the spread and persistence of pollution from mainland Asia is especially clear when cleansing oceanic air advects westward across Japan, removing the continental influence and reducing concentrations of the undesirable metalliferous pollutants by over 90%. Our new chemical database, especially the Streaker data, demonstrates the rapidly changing complexity of ambient air inhaled during these transboundary events, and implicates Chinese coal combustion as the main source of the anthropogenic aerosol component.

Size and time-resolved roadside enrichments of atmospheric particulate pollutants in PM10 were detected and quantified in a Mediterranean urban environment (Barcelona, Spain). Simultaneous data from one urban background (UB), one traffic (T) and one heavy traffic (HT) location were analysed, and roadside PM10 enrichments (RE) in a number of elements arising from vehicular emissions were calculated. Tracers of primary traffic emissions (EC, Fe, Ba, Cu, Sb, Cr, Sn) showed the largest REs (>70%). Other traffic tracers (Zr, Cd) showed lower but still consistent REs (25–40%), similar to those obtained for mineral matter resulting from road dust resuspension (Ca, La, Ce, Ti, Ga, Sr, 30–40%). The sum of primary and secondary organic carbon showed a RE of 41%, with contributions of secondary OC (SOC) to total OC ranging from 46% at the HT site, 63% at the T site, and 78% in the UB. Finally, other trace elements (As, Co, Bi) showed unexpected but consistent roadside enrichments (23% up to 69%), suggesting a link to traffic emissions even though the emission process is unclear. Hourly-resolved PM speciation data proved to be a highly resourceful tool to determine the source origin of atmospheric pollutants in urban environments. At the HT site, up to 62% of fine Mn was attributable to industrial plumes, whereas coarse Mn levels were mainly attributed to traffic. Similarly, even though Zn showed on average no roadside enrichment and thus was classified as industrial, the hourly-resolved data proved that at least 15% of coarse Zn may be attributed to road traffic emissions. In addition, our results indicate that secondary nitrate formation occurs within the city-scale, even in the absence of long atmospheric residence times or long-range atmospheric transport processes. Characteristic tracer ratios of road traffic emissions were identified: Cu/Sb = 6.8–8.0, Cu/Sn = 4.7–5.4 and Sn/Sb = 1.5.

The chemical composition and the soluble fraction were determined in aerosol samples collected during flights of AMMA-SOP0/DABEX campaign, which were conducted in the West African Sahel during dry season (2006). Two aerosol types are encountered in this period: dust particles (DUST) and biomass burning aerosol (BB). Chemical analysis and microscope observations showed that the iron (Fe) found in BB samples mainly originates from dust particles mostly internally mixed in the biomass burning layer. Chemical analyses of samples showed that the Fe solubility is lower in African dust samples than in biomass burning aerosols. Our data provide a first idea of the variability of iron dust solubility in the source region (0.1% and 3.4%). We found a relationship between iron solubility/clay content/source which partly confirms that the variability of iron solubility in this source region is related to the character and origin of the aerosols themselves. In the biomass burning samples, no relationship were found between Fe solubility and either the concentrations of acidic species (SO42−, NO3− or oxalate) or the content of carbon (TC, OC, BC). Therefore, we were unable to determine what processes are involved in this increase of iron solubility. In terms of supply of soluble Fe to oceanic ecosystems on a global scale, the higher solubility observed for Fe in biomass burning could imply an indirect source of Fe to marine ecosystems. But these aerosols are probably not significant because the Sahara is easily the dominant source of Fe to the Atlantic Ocean.

Resumo: Na maior parte dos países ocidentais morre anualmente cerca de 1% da população. Apesar dos avanços tecnológicos da medicina actual no tratamento dos doentes muito graves e no prolongamento da vida, é hoje reconhecido que este prolongamento pode não ser um objectivo apropriado. A 5.ª Conferência Internacional de Consenso em Cuidados Intensivos, sobre as questões ligadas ao tratamento nas unidades de cuidados intensivos, identificou vários problemas: 1. A variabilidade da prática clínica 2. Modelos inadequados de previsão da morte 3. Desconhecimento das preferências dos doentes 4. Má comunicação entre os profissionais de saúde e os doentes ou seus representantes 5. Treino insuficiente dos prestadores de cuidados de saúde 6. Uso de terminologia imprecisa e insensível 7. Documentação incompleta nos registos médicosNa sequência destes resultados, foi recomendada mais investigação que possa conduzir à melhoria dos cuidados de saúde no fim da vida. A DPOC, o cancro do pulmão, as infecções respiratórias e as doenças torácicas restritivas lideram as causas de morte, contribuindo em conjunto para cerca de 30% das mortes. A insuficiência respiratória crónica agudizada é a fase final habitual destas doenças e, na grande maioria dos casos, é tratada por pneumologistas. Neste artigo apresenta-se um estudo realizado ao longo de seis meses pelo grupo de interesse em cuidados intensivos respiratórios da Sociedade Respiratória Europeia, com o objectivo de avaliar as práticas clínicas no fim da vida de doentes admitidos em unidades de cuidados intermédios e em unidades de alta dependência na Europa. Neste estudo foi administrado um questionário de 33 itens que incluiu perguntas sobre a natureza e a epidemiologia das decisões no fim da vida, questões sobre a comunicação destas decisões e questões gerais sobre a organização da unidade, o tipo de doentes habitualmente admitido e as características dos respondedores. Foram incluídos centros do Norte da Europa (Alemanha, Reino Unido, Áustria, França e Bélgica) e do Sul da Europa (Itália, Espanha, Portugal, Turquia e Roménia) e a taxa de respostas foi de 29,5%. Um total de 6008 doentes foram admitidos neste período e a decisão no fim da vida foi obtida em 21,5% (1292 doentes). A taxa de mortalidade verificada nestes foi de 68% (884 dos 1292 doentes).

Se analizaron las especies de garrapatas del género Amblyomma en relación a las áreas fitogeográficas argentinas donde fueron colectados los especímenes y al rango de hospedadores. Se determinó un total de 22 especies con una mayoría en el dominio del Chaco (17 especies, 8 exclusivas), seguido por el dominio Amazónico (13 especies, 5 exclusivas) y el Andino-Patagónico (3 especies). Diez especies fueron asociadas al hombre, 13 sobre animales domésticos y otras sobre una gran variedad de animales silvestres. Considerando este amplio rango de hospedadores, sería conveniente estudiar su ecología y potencial para transmitir enfermedades.

Se evaluó la susceptibilidad-resistencia de poblaciones argentinas de la garrapata Rhipicephalus microplus (83 poblaciones) y de la mosca Haematobia irritans (125 poblaciones) a la cipermetrina (piretroide) y al diazinón (órgano-fosforado), respectivamente. No se detectaron poblaciones de H. irritans resistentes al diazinón pero se determinaron 19 poblaciones de garrapatas resistentes a la cipermetrina. La mayoría (15) de ellas se concentró en el litoral, especialmente en Corrientes, donde predominan condiciones de mayor aptitud para el desarrollo de R. microplus; la frecuencia anual de tratamiento con acaricidas es alta y los piretroides fueron reemplazados en buena medida por acaricidas a base de formamidina y avermectinas. El resto de las poblaciones resistentes fueron determinadas en el área oeste de la distribución de la garrapata (tres en Córdoba, una en Salta) donde la apatitud para el desarrollo de R. microplus es intermedia y la frecuencia anual de tratamientos es menor que en el este. Se destaca la conveniencia de mantener la evaluación continua del status de la susceptibilidad-resistencia de la H. irritans a los órgano-fosforados para alertar en forma temprana si se comprobara algún cambio en la situación actual. Se considera necesario continuar con la evaluación de la susceptibilidad-resistencia de R. microplus a los piretroides en las áreas donde las poblaciones son aún susceptibles e incorporar técnicas para el diagnóstico de resistencia a formamidinas y avermectinas que son utilizados como acaricidas en una proporción importante de establecimientos ganaderos.

Se analizaron las especies de garrapatas de las familias Argasidae e Ixodidae, con excepción del género Amblyomma, en relación con la fitogeografía de la Argentina. Se determinaron 3 especies de Argas, 3 de Ornithodoros y 1 de Otobius para Argasidae, pero se presume que Argas miniatus está también establecido. Un total de 14 especies de Ixodidae están representadas en el país para el conjunto de los géneros Dermacentor (1 especie), Haemaphysalis (2 especies), Ixodes (9 especies) y Rhipicephalus (2 especies). La mayoría de taxones (15) se determinó para el dominio del Chaco, 4 exclusivos de este dominio, seguido por el dominio Amazónico (10 especies, 2 exclusivas) y el Andino- Patagónico, con 8 taxones (3 exclusivos). Nueve especies fueron determinadas sobre el hombre y 9 sobre animales domésticos, indicando la conveniencia de impulsar estudios sobre su ecología y potencial para transmitir enfermedades.

Dust intrusions from African desert regions have an impact on the Mediterranean Basin (MB), as they cause an anomalous increase of aerosol concentrations in the tropospheric column and often an increase of particulate matter at the ground level. To estimate the Saharan dust contribution to PM10, a significant dust intrusion event that occurred in June 2006 is investigated, joining numerical simulations and specific measurements. As a first step, a synoptic analysis of this episode is performed. Such analysis, based only on meteorological and aerosol optical thickness observations, does not allow the assessment of exhaustive informations. In fact, it is not possible to distinguish dust outbreaks transported above the boundary layer without any impact at the ground level from those causing deposition. The approach proposed in this work applies an ad hoc model chain to describe emission, transport and deposition dynamics. Furthermore, physical and chemical analyses (PIXE analysis and ion chromatography) were used to measure the concentration of all soil-related elements to quantify the contribution of dust particles to PM10. The comparison between simulation results and in-situ measurements show a satisfying agreement, and supports the effectiveness of the model chain to estimate the Saharan dust contribution at ground level.

Background. A low body mass index is one of the strongest predictors of mortality in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients. Under-nutrition is often associated with skeletal muscle wasting and hypophosphatemia. Aim and Methods. In a pilot, randomised, doubleblind placebo-controlled study, we assessed the physiological effects of phosphorous administration in 17 stable undernourished COPD patients, on diaphragmatic function, breathing pattern, neuromuscular drive (P0.1) and dyspnea score. Fructose 1.6-diphosphate (FDP) or placebo was administered i.v. for 7 consecutive days. Results. FDP administration was associated with a marked increase in inspiratory time (Ti) that induced a significant rise (p

Background: In severe stable hypercapnic COPD patients the amount of pressure time product (PTP) spent to counterbalance their dynamic intrinsic positive end expiratory pressure (PEEPi,dyn) is high: no data are available on the best setting of non invasive pressure support ventilation (NPSV) to reduce the inspiratory muscle workload due to PEEPi,dyn. Methods: The objectives of this randomised controlled physiological study were: 1. To measure the inspiratory muscle workload due to PEEPi,dyn 2. To measure the effects on this parameter of two settings of NPSV in stable COPD patients with chronic hypercapnia admitted in a Pulmonary Division of two Rehabilitation Centers. Twenty- three stable COPD patients with chronic hypercapnia on domiciliary nocturnal NPSV for 30±20 months were submitted to an evaluation of breathing pattern, PEEPi,dyn, inspiratory muscle workload and its partitioning during both assisted and unassisted ventilation. Two settings of NPSV were randomly applied for 30 minutes each: i- “at patient’s comfort” (C): Inspiratory pressure support (IPS) was the maximal tolerated pressure able to reduce awake PaCO2 with the addition of a pre-set level of external PEEP (PEEPe); ii- “physiological setting” (PH): the level of IPS able to achieve a > 40% and < 90% decrease in transdiaphragmatic pressure in comparison to spontaneous breathing (SB). A PEEPe level able to reduce PEEPi,dyn by at least 50% was added. Results: During SB the tidal diaphragmatic pressuretime product (PTPdi/b) was 17.62±7.22 cmH2O*sec, the component due to PEEPi,dyn (PTPdiPEEPi,dyn) being 38 ± 17% (range: 16-65%). Compared to SB, PTPdiPEEPi,dyn was reduced significantly with both settings, the reduction being greater with PH compared to C. Conclusions: In conclusion in severe COPD patients with chronic hypercapnia the inspiratory muscle workload due to PEEPidyn is high and is reduced by NPSV at a greater extent when ventilator setting is tailored to patient’s mechanics.

Abstract KM3NeT/ORCA is a water Cherenkov neutrino detector under construction and anchored at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. The detector is designed to study oscillations of atmospheric neutrinos and determine the neutrino mass ordering. This paper focuses on an initial configuration of ORCA, referred to as ORCA6, which comprises six out of the foreseen 115 detection units of photo-sensors. A high-purity neutrino sample was extracted, corresponding to an exposure of 433 kton-years. The sample of 5828 neutrino candidates is analysed following a binned log-likelihood method in the reconstructed energy and cosine of the zenith angle. The atmospheric oscillation parameters are measured to be sin 2 θ 23 = 0.51 − 0.05 + 0.04 $$ {\sin}^2{\theta}_{23}={0.51}_{-0.05}^{+0.04} $$ , and Δ m 31 2 = 2.18 − 0.35 + 0.25 × 10 − 3 eV 2 ∪ − 2.25 − 1.76 × 10 − 3 $$ \Delta {m}_{31}^2={2.18}_{-0.35}^{+0.25}\times {10}^{-3}{\textrm{eV}}^2\cup \left\{-2.25,-1.76\right\}\times {10}^{-3} $$ eV2 at 68% CL. The inverted neutrino mass ordering hypothesis is disfavoured with a p-value of 0.25.

Abstract The KM3NeT/ARCA neutrino detector is currently under construction at 3500 m depth offshore Capo Passero, Sicily, in the Mediterranean Sea. The main science objectives are the detection of high-energy cosmic neutrinos and the discovery of their sources. Simulations were conducted for the full KM3NeT/ARCA detector, instrumenting a volume of 1 km $$^3$$ 3 , to estimate the sensitivity and discovery potential to point-like neutrino sources. This paper covers the reconstruction of track- and shower-like signatures, as well as the criteria employed for neutrino event selection. With an angular resolution below 0.1 $$^\circ $$ ∘ for tracks and under 2 $$^\circ $$ ∘ for showers, the sensitivity to point-like neutrino sources surpasses existing observed limits across the entire sky.

Abstract We study the sphaleron solutions in two deformations of the $$\phi ^6$$ ϕ 6 model and analyze the oscillons originated from them. We find that the presence of internal modes plays a crucial role in the sphaleron collapse. The positive internal modes triggered by a squeezing of the sphaleron are able to change the direction of collapse. We provide an analytical understanding behind this phenomenon.

Abstract The measurement of the flux of muons produced in cosmic ray air showers is essential for the study of primary cosmic rays. Such measurements are important in extensive air shower detectors to assess the energy spectrum and the chemical composition of the cosmic ray flux, complementary to the information provided by fluorescence detectors. Detailed simulations of the cosmic ray air showers are carried out, using codes such as CORSIKA, to estimate the muon flux at sea level. These simulations are based on the choice of hadronic interaction models, for which improvements have been implemented in the post-LHC era. In this work, a deficit in simulations that use state-of-the-art QCD models with respect to the measurement deep underwater with the KM3NeT neutrino detectors is reported. The KM3NeT/ARCA and KM3NeT/ORCA neutrino telescopes are sensitive to TeV muons originating mostly from primary cosmic rays with energies around 10 TeV. The predictions of state-of-the-art QCD models show that the deficit with respect to the data is constant in zenith angle; no dependency on the water overburden is observed. The observed deficit at a depth of several kilometres is compatible with the deficit seen in the comparison of the simulations and measurements at sea level.