No abstract

This study aimed to provide new information about phyto-toxicology of nano-TiO2 on plant systems. To contribute to the evaluation of the potential harmful effects of the nanoparticles on monocots and dicots we considered their effects on seed germination and root elongation applying a concentration range from 0.2 to 4.0% in the plants Zea mays L. and Vicia narbonensis L. Moreover, we achieved a genotoxicity study at cytological level in root meristems by means of traditional cytogenetic approach, to evidence possible alterations in mitotic activity, chromosomal aberrations, and micronuclei release. From these analyses it comes out that nano- TiO2 particles, after short-term exposure and under our experimental conditions, delayed germination progression for the first 24 h in both materials. Root elongation was affected only after treatment with the higher nano-TiO2 concentration. Further significant effects were detected showing mitotic index reduction and concentration-dependent increase in the aberration emergence that evidenced a nano-TiO2- induced genotoxic effect for both species

Abstract. The European Alps stretch over a range of climate zones which affect the spatial distribution of snow. Previous analyses of station observations of snow were confined to regional analyses. Here, we present an Alpine-wide analysis of snow depth from six Alpine countries – Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, and Switzerland – including altogether more than 2000 stations of which more than 800 were used for the trend assessment. Using a principal component analysis and k-means clustering, we identified five main modes of variability and five regions which match the climatic forcing zones: north and high Alpine, north-east, north-west, south-east, and south and high Alpine. Linear trends of monthly mean snow depth between 1971 and 2019 showed decreases in snow depth for most stations from November to May. The average trend among all stations for seasonal (November to May) mean snow depth was −8.4 % per decade, for seasonal maximum snow depth −5.6 % per decade, and for seasonal snow cover duration −5.6 % per decade. Stronger and more significant trends were observed for periods and elevations where the transition from snow to snow-free occurs, which is consistent with an enhanced albedo feedback. Additionally, regional trends differed substantially at the same elevation, which challenges the notion of generalizing results from one region to another or to the whole Alps. This study presents an analysis of station snow depth series with the most comprehensive spatial coverage in the European Alps to date.

We evaluate the exposure during nadir observations with JEM-EUSO, the Extreme Universe Space Obser-\ud vatory, on-board the Japanese Experiment Module of the International Space Station. Designed as a mis-\ud sion to explore the extreme energy Universe from space, JEM-EUSO will monitor the Earth’s nighttime\ud atmosphere to record the ultraviolet light from tracks generated by extensive air showers initiated by\ud ultra-high energy cosmic rays. In the present work, we discuss the particularities of space-based obser-\ud vation and we compute the annual exposure in nadir observation. The results are based on studies of the\ud expected trigger aperture and observational duty cycle, as well as, on the investigations of the effects of\ud clouds and different types of background light. We show that the annual exposure is about one order of\ud magnitude higher than those of the presently operating ground-based observatories

The chemical compositions of the volatile fractions from three Olea europaea L. cultivars (Leccino, Frantoio, and Cipressino) were examined by GC and GC-MS. The results showed that the cultivars can be distinguished on the basis of the volatile fraction compositions.