No abstract

No abstract

In a previous work it has been demonstrated that micro-Raman spectroscopy is a technique able to recognize crystalline phases on untreated samples. In that case, inorganic particles and uncoated fibers from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of a patient affected by pneumoconiosis were identified and characterized. In this work the technique is applied to asbestos bodies, that is, to coated fibers, and on crystallizations and fibrous phases observed in the plural plaque from patients affected by mesothelioma. From the Raman analysis the abundant fibrous material observed in the pleural area is talc, whereas rounded grains in the pleural tissue show the Raman spectrum of apatite, a calcium phosphate mineral particular to bones. In the pulmonary tissue many asbestos bodies, consisting of the incorporated fibers coated by iron-rich proteins, were observed. Under the 632.8 nm laser beam of the spectrometer, photo-crystallization of hematite in the iron-rich material forming the asbestos bodies can be proposed by the changes in the Raman spectra acquired during subsequent acquisitions. Nevertheless, the identification of the mineral phase constituting the incorporated fiber was possible by analyzing the Raman spectra; the results were confirmed by variable pressure scanning electron microscopy with annexed energy dispersive spectroscopy (VP-SEM-EDS) analyses.

No abstract

[1] This study presents the results of an application to a Bora severe weather episode (January 1995) in the northern Adriatic Sea of the regional two-way atmosphere-ocean coupled model (RAMS-DieCAST), developed jointly by the Università di Torino and the Istituto Sperimentale Talassografico del CNR, Trieste. RAMS-DieCAST showed significantly better ability to predict the sea surface temperature (SST) and its time evolution during the above mentioned episode using a full two-way coupling as opposed to simpler one-way forcing of the ocean. In this context, we found out that even in the highfrequency variability conditions that are typical of Bora events, heat fluxes from the sea must be taken into account for a better description of air-sea interaction processes in a dynamical framework. The SST evolution has been chosen as a validation parameter, owing to its availability and relevance for the characterization of the marine environment and local weather and climate studies. The simulations carried out with RAMS-DieCAST present a small systematic error in calculating the SST evolution; however, a sensitivity analysis of the model to the preparation of initial conditions of the simulation suggested that climatological initialization could be partly responsible for this error, which might be reduced by assimilating satellite-derived SSTs into the preparation of the initial conditions of the model.