Environmental certification: a scientific tool for sustainability. Evaluation of possible indicators for the environmental performance evaluation (EPE) of Ravenna province (Italy)

Environmental certification is becoming the main tool for application of sustainable development principles. The European Regulation Emas and the international standard ISO 14001 both require for certification, to perform an environmental management system to prevent environmental impacts and to continuously improve environmental performance. For a good environmental performance evaluation (EPE), certification needs to use scientific methodologies and to interface with scientific research; here we proposed emergy analysis as a valid method for EPE and emergetic environmental performance and condition indicators (EPIs, ECIs) to monitor a territorial system: Ravenna province (Italy). Together with emergy indicators were selected other indicators for a deeper EPE: emitted/adsorbed CO2, energy consumptions, air and water pollution measures. The paper showed that Ravenna system has a good environmental performance and demonstrated how different indicators from the most advanced chemical research (chemical-physical, analytical, etc.) contribute to a complete EPE of a complex territorial system and are useful for environmental certification and sustainable development.     

Ab initio Hartree–Fock approach to the study of polymers: Application to polyacetylenes

An ab initio Hartree–Fock method devoted to the study of polymers is presented, truncation criteria for the exchange and the Coulomb series are discussed, and it is shown that the error in the total energy evaluation can be reduced to below 0.0001 a.u./cell with little computational effort. Results for six polyacetylene isomers are presented and compared with previous ab initio data obtained using the same basis set. In agreement with the experimental findings, the alternating all-trans structure is the most stable.     

A re-statement of the Hohenberg–Kohn theorem and its extension to finite subspaces

Bearing in mind the insight into the Hohenberg–Kohn theorem for Coulomb systems provided recently by Kryachko (Int J Quantum Chem 103:818, 2005), we present a re-statement of this theorem through an elaboration on Lieb’s proof as well as an extension of this theorem to finite subspaces. Contribution to the Serafin Fraga Memorial Issue.     

Extraction of the (C4H9)4N+Co(II)SCN− ion-pair in chloroform and in isoamyl alcohol: Spectrophotometric determination of cobalt

When excesses of ammonium thiocyanate and tetrabutylammonium chloride are added to a cobalt(II) solution, a water-insoluble ion-pair is formed; this compound is soluble in chloroform, isoamyl alcohol, and other solvents. The variables which affect the extractions by these two solvents are studied in order to obtain the optimal conditions and two alternative extraction procedures are proposed. Thus, the separation of cobalt as a previous step for its spectrophotometric determination is studied.     

Express detection of nonylphenol in water samples by fluorescence polarization immunoassay

The development of express method for detection of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDC) such as alkylphenols is required for ecological monitoring. Several attempts have been made to produce antibodies against 4-nonylphenol (NP) in recent years. This work describes the production of new antibodies against NP and also summarizes the characterization of antibodies obtained earlier. Three approaches used to produce alkylphenol-specific antibodies are compared; these are based on: 1. omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)nonanoic or omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)heptanoic acid NP derivatives designed to mimic the linear NP isomer; 2. 4-aminophenol, which potentially mimics various substituted phenolic compounds with different side-chain structures at position 4 of the benzene ring; and 3. a mixture of branched NP isomers, conjugated to the carrier protein via a benzene ring by the Mannich reaction, and expected to be the closest mimic of NP structure by preserving its natural alkyl moiety.Fluorescence polarization immunoassays based on different combinations of antibody and labeled antigen for screening detection of NP were developed and structural aspects of assay sensitivity and specificity were investigated. The assays based on the antisera raised against omega-(4-hydroxyphenyl)nonanoic acid and NP conjugate via Mannich reaction are capable of express detection of NP with detection limit of 7 microg mL(-1 )and assay dynamic range of 18-300 microg mL(-1).     

Physicochemical aspects of the liposome-wool interaction in wool dyeing

Despite the promising application of liposomes in wool dyeing, little is known about the mechanism of liposome interactions with the wool fiber and dyestuffs. The kinetics of wool dyeing by two dyes, Acid Green 27 (hydrophobic) and Acid Green 25 (hydrophilic), were compared in three experimental protocols: (1) without liposomes, (2) in the presence of phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes, and (3) with wool previously treated with PC liposomes. Physicochemical interactions of liposomes with wool fibers were studied under experimental dyeing conditions with particular interest in the liposome affinity to the fiber surface and changes in the lipid composition of the wool fibers. The results obtained indicate that the presence of liposomes favors the retention of these two dyes in the dyeing bath, this effect being more pronounced in case of the hydrophobic dye. Furthermore, the liposome treatment is accompanied by substantial absorption of PC by wool fibers with simultaneous partial solubilization of their polar lipids (more evident at higher temperatures). This may result in structural modification of the cell membrane complex of wool fibers, which could account for a high level of the dye exhaustion observed at the end of the liposome dyeing process.     

Preparation of Fe/B powders by mechanical alloying

Steels with a high boron content are valuable as a neutron shield in waste containers and as control absorbers in nuclear reactors. The purpose of this study was to obtain by mechanical alloying an iron powder with 50% boron (by weight) and then powder-metallurgy materials. The elementary powders were mixed in a high-energy mill for 36 h in an inert atmosphere. Samples were withdrawn at intervals, and the powder was characterized by differential thermal analysis, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. The Fe/B powders withdrawn at different intervals of milling were diluted with further additions of iron up to a final content of 10% boron. The mixtures were uniaxially compacted at 500 MPa; their green density was verified, and they were sintered in argon at 1150°C. Their physical properties (density and dimensional change) and bending strength were evaluated and microstructural studies and fracture tests were performed.     

Electrothermal vaporisation ICP-mass spectrometry (ETV-ICP-MS) for the determination and speciation of trace elements in solid samples - A review of real-life applications from the author's lab

The use of electrothermal vaporisation (ETV) from a graphite furnace as a means of sample introduction in inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) permits the direct analysis of solid samples. A multi-step furnace temperature programme is used to separate the vaporisation of the target element(s) and of the matrix components from one another. Sometimes, a chemical modifier is used to enable a higher thermal pre-treatment temperature, by avoiding premature analyte losses (stabilisation) or promoting the selective volatilisation of matrix components. In almost all instances, accurate results can be obtained via external calibration or single standard addition using an aqueous standard solution. Absolute limits of detection are typically ~1 pg, which corresponds to 1 ng/g for a typical sample mass of 1 mg. Real-life applications carried out in the author's lab are used to illustrate the utility of this approach. These applications aim at trace element determination in industrial and environmental materials. The industrial materials analysed include different types of plastics - Carilon, polyethylene, poly(ethyleneterephtalate) and polyamide - and photo- and thermographic materials. As samples from environmental origin, plant material, animal tissue and sediments were investigated. Some applications aimed at a multi-element determination, while in other, the content of a single, but often challenging, element (e.g., Si or S) had to be measured. ETV-ICP-MS was also used in elemental speciation studies. Separation of Se-containing proteins was accomplished using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). Subsequent quantification of the Se content in the protein spots was carried out using ETV-ICP-MS. As the volatilisation of methylmercury and inorganic mercury could be separated from one another with respect to time, no chromatographic or electrophoretic separation procedure was required, but ETV-ICP-MS as such sufficed for Hg speciation in fish tissue.     

Cloud point extraction of vanadium in parenteral solutions using a nonionic surfactant (PONPE 5.0) and determination by flow injection-inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry

A preconcentration and determination methodology for vanadium at trace levels in parenteral solutions was developed. Cloud point extraction was successfully employed for the preconcentration of vanadium prior to inductively coupled plasma atomic optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) coupled to a flow injection (FI) system. The vanadium was extracted as vanadium-2-(5-bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol [V-(5-Br-PADAP)] complex, at pH 3.7 mediated by micelles of the nonionic surfactant polyoxyethylene (5.0) nonylphenol (PONPE 5.0). The extracted surfactant-rich phase (100 mul) was mixed with 100 mul of ethanol and this final volume injected into ICP-OES for the vanadium determination. Under these conditions, the 50 ml sample solution preconcentration allowed raising an enrichment factor of 250-fold; however, it was possible to obtain a theoretical enrichment factor of 500-fold. The lower limit of detection (LOD) obtained under the optimal conditions was 16 ng l(-1). The precision for 10 replicate determinations at the 2.0 mug l(-1) V level was 2.3% relative standard deviation (RSD), calculated with the peak heights. The calibration graph using the preconcentration system for vanadium was linear with a correlation coefficient of 0.9996 at levels near the detection limits up to at least 50 mug l(-1). The method was successfully applied to the determination of vanadium in parenteral solution samples.     

Fairness in ambulance routing for post disaster management

Central European Journal of Operations Research - Disaster management generally includes the post-disaster stage, which consists of the actions taken in response to the disaster damages. These...