Biomedical subjects

Bruno Pavoni

Publications and source records attributed to Bruno Pavoni.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

The changing state of contamination in the Lagoon of Venice. Part 2: heavy metals.

In order to verify whether pollution is increasing or decreasing, in 25 locations uniformly distributed in the central part of the Lagoon of Venice, a transitional environment suffering from man's urban and industrial activities, the same sampling scheme was repeated three times (in 1987, 1993 and 1998) over a 12-year period during which the lagoonal environment underwent substantial changes. Superficial sediments were sampled and analysed for heavy metals and total organic carbon contents, grain size and density. In general heavy metal contents were found to be correlated, with concentrations above the background level, e.g., for Hg, a concentration factor of 24 was observed in 1987. A temporal decrease in concentrations was observed for most of the metals. Detailed analysis on a smaller spatial scale showed that contamination significantly decreases from the inner border of the lagoon seawards, as highlighted in contour maps. The role of the Porto Marghera industrial zone as a source of pollutants at the border of the Lagoon was confirmed. The decrease in contamination could not be attributed only to a decrease in the intensity of sources, but also to erosion processes, worsened by intensive harvesting of clams with hydraulic dredges.

Environmental Monitoring↗

PubMed2006

Organochlorine compounds (polychlorinated biphenyls and pesticides) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in populations of Hexaplex trunculus affected by imposex in the lagoon of Venice, Italy.

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in gastropods from the Lagoon of Venice, Italy. The visceral coil and the rest of the soft body of organisms (Hexaplex trunculus) sampled at two stations inside the lagoon and three stations on the seaward side were analyzed to evaluate their contamination levels. Preferential accumulation of PCBs and pesticides in the visceral coil (>80%) compared with the rest of the soft body was observed, whereas on average, PAHs showed no preferential partitioning. Differences between levels of organochlorine contaminants in the gastropods highlighted a gradient of pollution from the stations inside the lagoon (PCBs, 45-363 ng/g; pesticides, 4-51 ng/g) to the sea (PCBs, 13-131 ng/g; pesticides, 2-29 ng/g). The possible role of the three classes of contaminants, in addition to that of organotin compounds (OTCs), previously analyzed in the same samples, in causing one of the anatomic modifications because of imposex in this gastropod also was studied. A modeling approach by partial least squares (PLS) in latent variables was applied to explain the penis length of imposex-affected females with concentrations of organic pollutants. The synergistic role of PCBs, pesticides, and OTCs was evidenced, whereas the contribution of PAHs appeared to be very low.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

The changing state of contamination in the Lagoon of Venice. Part 1: organic pollutants.

The Lagoon of Venice is a transitional environment suffering from industrial, urban and agricultural impact. Recently the mechanical clam fishing, preventing a regular deposition of sediments has made sampling of cores suitable for radiodating very problematic. Therefore, in this study, in order to assess temporal and spatial trends of contamination, the same sampling scheme was repeated three times over a 12-year period. The concentrations of PCBs, PAHs and organochlorine pesticides were measured in the uppermost 5 cm of sediments collected in 25 sites in the central portion of the lagoon during three campaigns conducted in 1987, 1993 and 1998. Analytical results, validated statistically, indicated that, while PCB and pesticide concentrations tend to decrease during the considered period of time, PAH do not, showing that the input rate of these compounds to the lagoon environment is still important. A spatial trend of pollution was also found in the lagoon for PCBs and pesticides, which decrease from the sources, namely the industrial zone and the mouths of rivers, to areas closer to the sea: a reduction up to 80% and 90%, respectively, was monitored. PAH contamination, originating chiefly from incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, as inferred from ratios of congeners, was mainly located around the historical center of Venice, where most of the boat traffic is concentrated and has an increasing trend.

Agriculture↗

PubMed2005

An in vitro study of the interaction of sea-nine with rat liver mitochondria.

The interactions of the antifouling compound Sea-Nine with rat liver mitochondria have been studied. The results indicate that low doses of this compound inhibit adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) synthesis. Further investigations indicate that ATP synthesis inhibition should be due to an interaction of Sea-Nine with the succinic dehydrogenase in the mitochondrial respiratory chain.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed2004

Concentrations of organotin compounds and imposex in the gastropod Hexaplex trunculus from the Lagoon of Venice.

In four stations located close to the channels connecting the Lagoon of Venice with the Adriatic Sea (two inside the lagoon and two outside it), individuals of Hexaplex trunculus were collected in order to assess their contamination. Concentrations of some organotin compounds, i.e. tributyltin and triphenyltin with their di- and mono- substituted metabolites, were measured and endocrine disruption such as imposex (superimposition of male sexual characteristics on females of gonochoristic gastropods) was observed. Vas deferens sequence indexes (VDSI) of 4.1-4.9 were found in organisms from stations inside the lagoon, and 3.6-4.2 in the sea stations. Organotin derivatives were measured in both the visceral coil and the rest of the soft body of the organisms. Total concentrations of butyltin compounds ranged from 102 +/- 17 to 432 +/- 27 ng Sn g(-1) d.w. in the visceral coil, and from 96 +/- 24 to 297 +/- 107 ng Sn g(-1) d.w. in the rest of the soft body. Phenyltins were found at far lower concentrations, ranging from 8 +/- 1 to 41 +/- 3 ng Sn g(-1) d.w. (visceral coil) and from 0.25 to 32 +/- 22 ng Sn g(-1) d.w. (rest of soft body). The degree of imposex in female gastropods, evaluated from VDSI and penis lengths, was related to organotin contents in the soft body. In particular, female penis lengths were significantly correlated (r = 0.917 and r = 0.982, P<0.05) to tributyltin (TBT) contents and the sum of organotin compounds in organisms.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Marine sediment contamination of an industrial site at Port of Bagnoli, Gulf of Naples, Southern Italy.

For almost one century an important steel plant has been active at the Bagnoli industrial area (Naples, Southern Italy). The environmental survey of near shore and offshore sediments has been carried out as fundamental part of a clean up project. The characteristics of the area, supposed type of pollution, national and international protocols in force were taken into consideration in designing sampling schemes and selecting analytical parameters. For this work, sediment grain size, PAHs, PCBs, trace elements, total hydrocarbons and organic matter were considered. Factor analysis evidenced two main types of pollution in the proximity of the industrial plant, both probably attributable to the activity of the industrial site. The first one, due to Cd, Pb, Zn and Mn seems determined by localised activities at the southern part of the plant. The second one, due to Fe and Mn, appears directly linked to the whole contaminated area.

Environmental Monitoring↗

PubMed2003

Self-purification ability of a resurgence stream.

The self-purification ability of a resurgence stream has been investigated by taking samples along the course of a channeled tract made up of a first part in beaten soil (3.3 km) and a second in concrete (7.2 km). The study has been conducted by statistically processing pre-existent data, acquired monthly by analyzing waters at the beginning and at the end of the whole canal for 6 years, from 1995 to 2000 (historic data), and by performing specific experiments (recent data) to evaluate differently the self-purification capacity of the beaten soil section and that in concrete. A significant abatement of concentrations has been observed from historic data for ammonium, phosphates, turbidity, heavy metals and bacteria. From the recent data, all these parameters seem to decrease in the beaten soil tract. Whereas significant further decreases in the concrete tract were observed only for ammonium, phosphates and bacteria. For other parameters, e.g. pH, dissolved oxygen, chlorides, fluorides, sodium, and sulfates, a significant increase was observed from the historic data.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗

PubMedDate not supplied

FT-IR spectroscopy and chemometrics as a useful approach for determining chemical-physical properties of gasoline, by minimizing analytical times and sample handling.

Since recently Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy is being used in the petrol industry for determining important chemical-physical properties of gasoline. This technique enables to achieve results similar to those obtainable with standard methods at shorter times, lower costs and safer sample handling. This can be obtained by employing multivariate regression models in the framework of a chemometric analytical approach. In the present work some gasoline properties including density, Reid vapor pressure, Research Octane Number, aromatic hydrocarbons content and fraction recovered at 70 degrees C were determined with standard methods (ISO, CEN, ASTM) on 93 samples of unleaded gasoline produced in an oil refinery. The same samples were also analyzed by FT-IR spectrophotometry, recording absorptions of seven characteristic bands. The obtained values of chemical-physical and spectroscopic properties were used to develop and validate a multivariate regression model. This established an experimental correlation between these two sets of variables derived from the same gasoline samples. The model was able to correctly predict the chemical physical properties of a set of unknown gasoline samples produced in the same refinery starting from the spectroscopic ones.

Chemistry, Physical↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Heavy metal contamination in compost. A possible solution.

With the objective of improving qualitative characteristics of compost, an analytical survey was carried out in a composting plant in Lombardy (Italy) in all process of production, with particular reference to heavy metals (HM) Zn and Pb. The investigation was principally aimed to study the contents and the accumulation of HM during composting process and to identify a technological solution for reducing HM content in the final product. A merceological analysis of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) input to the composting plant, a chemical analysis of the organic fraction of MSW after mechanical separation, and a comparison with values reported by some authors, showed that Zn and Pb are significant contaminants, even though concentrations have recently decreased in comparison to previous years. On the basis of Zn and Pb content in raw material input to the plant, an estimate of the theoretical value of Zn and Pb in produced compost was made. The comparison of theoretical values with the real ones, experimentally determined, confirmed that at the end of composting process the concentration is 2.6 times the initial value for Zn and 1.6 times the initial value for Pb, as suggested by some authors. Finally, the analytical investigation of Zn and Pb contents in the compost refining line, carried out by means of sieving tests, showed that by eliminating a fraction of compost < 1 mm, both Zn and Pb, which is the more critical one, can be largely removed, without a substantial yield loss (only 10% of the final product is eliminated).

Environmental Pollutants↗