An aerated static pile system with temperature feedback control was used for the composting of sewage sludge amended with olive tree leaves in a 1:1 (SS1) and 1:2 (SS2) v/v ratio, on two different occasions. The two piles were approximate 20 m3 each of similar dimensions; 2.0 wide at the base, 1.3 m height and 11 m long. Samples were taken from the core of the piles on four occasions: day 0 (es...

Glassy test strips partially coated with PVC-film including O-donor macrocyclic receptors (L), tetrabromophenolphthalein ethyl ester (TBPE(-)), and a plasticizer sensed Pb(2+) in aqueous solutions by a unique color change. Yellow films successively changed color to green, dark-blue and purple with increases of the Pb(2+) concentration. In contrast with the ordinary "optode", a characteristic ab...

Commercially available single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) contain large percentages of metal and carbonaceous impurities. These fractions influence the SWCNT physical properties and performance, yet their chemical compositions are not well defined. This lack of information also precludes accurate environmental risk assessments for specific SWCNT stocks, which emerging local legislation req...

Nitrogen doped diamond-like carbon (N-DLC) thin films were prepared on n-Si substrates using a filtered cathodic vacuum arc deposition method. Square wave anodic stripping voltammetry (SWASV) was used to trace Pb and Cu in a neutral KCl solution with pH 7. Stripping voltammograms of Pb and Cu were analyzed in terms of metal concentration, deposition time and deposition potential. The SWASV resu...

BACKGROUND Low blood lead levels previously thought to pose no health risks may have an adverse impact on the cognitive development of children. This concern has given rise to new regulatory restrictions upon lead metal containing products intended for child use. However few reliable experimental testing methods to estimate exposure levels from these materials are available. METHODS The prese...

The context and purpose of the study: During a coastal monitoring program, the abundance and distribution of the actively respiring and dead fraction within the total E. coli population along the Messina coastline (Sicily, Italy) were investigated using a fluorescent-antibody method coupled with the stains 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) or propidium iodide (PI) in order to asses...

Mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and arsenic (As) are recognized neurotoxins in children that particularly affect neurodevelopment and intellectual performance. Based on the hypothesis that the fetal basis of adult disease is fetal toxic exposure that results in adverse outcomes in adulthood, we explored the concentrations of key neurotoxins (i.e., Hg, Pb, Cd, and As) in meconium to ident...

The physics of sliding nanofriction at high temperature near the substrate melting point, TM, is so far unexplored. We conducted simulations of hard tips sliding on a prototype non-melting surface, NaCl(100), revealing two distinct and opposite phenomena for ploughing and for grazing friction in this regime. We found a frictional drop close to TM for deep ploughing and wear, but on the contrary...

A simple and efficient synthesis of dioxazaphosphinin-2-ones has been developed by the cyclisation of 2-hydroxy-1,2-diphenylethanoneoxime with phosphorus oxychloride in the presence of triethylamine in dry THF to afford the corresponding monochloride. In the next step, subsequent reaction of monochloride with different amines at 50-60 ̊C for 2-3 hours resulted in the formation of the title comp...