ARPA-E

About: ARPA-E is a government organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 1161 authors who have published 1267 publications receiving 30049 citations. The organization is also known as: Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy.

Simultaneous determination of deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, T-2 and HT-2 toxins in breakfast cereals and baby food by high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry

Abstract: In this study, the simultaneous determination of deoxynivalenol (DON), zearalenone (ZEA), T-2 and HT-2 toxins in foodstuff was investigated. A new kind of multi-mycotoxin immunoaffinity columns (IACs) available on the market (DZT MS-PREP(®)) was tested. A sensitive, selective and accurate method by high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry was developed, with electrospray ionization mass spectrometer operating in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, with negative-positive-negative ion switching. The method was used for the analysis of samples marked in Italy, in the frame of official monitoring plans. The advantages of combining IACs and LC-MS/MS technique are as follows: efficient removal of matrix interferences, simple chromatographic outline, high selectivity, low detection limits (DLs) and separation of a wide range of molecules with different physico-chemical properties in a single run. The method was studied on two different matrices, breakfast cereal and baby food, at contamination levels close to Regulation limits (EC) 1126/2007. The recoveries obtained (60-100%) fulfil the performance criteria required by Regulation (EC) 401/2006. The DL is 60 µg/kg for DON and 10 µg/kg for ZEA, T-2 and HT-2. Linearity range of the calibration curves is suitable for adult and baby food.

Lichen transplants as a suitable tool to identify mercury pollution from waste incinerators: a case study from NE Italy

Abstract: A lichen transplant study aimed at investigating a strong increase in mercury concentrations in lichens was run in a territory of NE Italy where background values were very low only 8 years before. Thalli of the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea collected in a pristine area were exposed for 1.5, 3 and 6 months at 31 sites selected according to the observed pattern of Hg concentrations, location of the suspected source (a new waste incinerator) and prevailing wind direction. Hg strongly increased at eight sites after 1.5 months, at 12 after 3 months and at 20 after 6 months. The highest values were always located SW and S of the incinerator, in good agreement with the prevailing night wind direction. It was concluded that, although the immediate risk for the population living close to the incinerator is low, long-term hazard due to Hg accumulation in the surrounding environment should be seriously taken into account.

Operational hydro-meteorological warning and real-time flood forecasting: the Piemonte Region case study

Abstract: . The development and implementation of a real-time flood forecasting system in the context of the Piemonte Region's hydro-meteorological operational alert procedure is described. The area of interest is the Upper Po River basin (north-west Italy) of approximately 37000 km2 and its river network of about 3000 km and three big lakes. FloodWatch, a GIS-based decision support system for real-time flood forecasting, has been developed and used operationally at the Piemonte Region's Room for the Situation of Natural Hazards in Torino, Italy, since January 2000. The system is linked directly to the telemetric gauges system, uses daily quantitative precipitation and temperature forecasts issued by the Regional Meteorological Service and automatically supplies operational forecasts of water-level and discharge at about 30 locations for up to 48 hours. Strengths and limits of the system and its link with operational flood alert and management are discussed. The case study presented is the October 2000 flood event, when the north-west of Italy experienced one of the largest floods on record. Results highlight how the uncertainty linked to the use of meteorological forecasts greatly influences the quality of the hydrological forecasts. The proposed alert procedure, based on coded risk levels, can help effectively in facing forecast uncertainties.

The Soverato flood in Southern Italy: performance of global and limited-area ensemble forecasts

Abstract: . The predictability of the flood event affecting Soverato (Southern Italy) in September 2000 is investigated by considering three different configurations of ECMWF ensemble: the operational Ensemble Prediction System (EPS), the targeted EPS and a high-resolution version of EPS. For each configuration, three successive runs of ECMWF ensemble with the same verification time are grouped together so as to generate a highly-populated "super-ensemble". Then, five members are selected from the super-ensemble and used to provide initial and boundary conditions for the integrations with a limited-area model, whose runs generate a Limited-area Ensemble Prediction System (LEPS). The relative impact of targeting the initial perturbations against increasing the horizontal resolution is assessed for the global ensembles as well as for the properties transferred to LEPS integrations, the attention being focussed on the probabilistic prediction of rainfall over a localised area. At the 108, 84 and 60- hour forecast ranges, the overall performance of the global ensembles is not particularly accurate and the best results are obtained by the high-resolution version of EPS. The LEPS performance is very satisfactory in all configurations and the rainfall maps show probability peaks in the correct regions. LEPS products would have been of great assistance to issue flood risk alerts on the basis of limited-area ensemble forecasts. For the 60-hour forecast range, the sensitivity of the results to the LEPS ensemble size is discussed by comparing a 5-member against a 51-member LEPS, where the limited-area model is nested on all EPS members. Little sensitivity is found as concerns the detection of the regions most likely affected by heavy precipitation, the probability peaks being approximately the same in both configurations.