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The Marshall Plan (1948–1952) was the largest aid transfer in history. This paper estimates its effects on Italy's postwar economic development. It exploits differences between Italian provinces in the value of reconstruction grants they received. Provinces that could modernize their infrastructure more quickly experienced higher increases in agricultural production, especially for perishable crops. In the same provinces, we observe larger investments in labor-saving machines, the entry of more firms into the industrial sector, and a larger expansion of the industrial and service workforces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals originating from vehicular emissions and other anthropogenic sources pose one of the main environmental health risks in urban areas. The assessment of metal bioaccumulation in selected species of synanthropic organisms allows evaluating their bioavailability and the transfer along food chains in urban ecosystems. An overall view of the results achieved in Siena on urban ecosystems shows that the mean Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations in biological crusts covering urban walls (0.66, 34, 65, and 184 μg·g−1 d.w.) are higher than the respective concentrations in tree leaf litter (0.19, 9.5, 9.2, and 38 μg·g−1 d.w.) and topsoil (0.40, 44, 34.2, and 102 μg·g−1 d.w.). Furthermore, the epilithic moss Tortula muralis accumulated much higher levels of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn (0.34, 65, 17.6, and 106 μg·g−1 d.w.) than epiphytic lichens (0.22, 11.6, 2.1, and 47.3 μg·g−1 d.w.) or the holm oak live foliage (0.15, 14, 1.51, and 26.5 μg·g−1 d.w.), respectively. However, analyses of the soft tissues of Papillifera papillaris, a snail dwelling on stone walls, show that metals deposited on urban walls are scarcely bioavailable. Papillifera accumulates (and transfers to the next trophic level) amounts of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn (1.7, 171, 1.1, and 71 μg·g−1 d.w., respectively) that are comparable or inferior to those found in a ground-dwelling snail (3.3, 88, 2.0, and 880 μg·g−1 d.w.) and two earthworm species (2.0–4.4, 18–23, 1.4–2.2, and 356–594 μg·g−1 d.w.) from the same urban green area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study excreta and feathers of five species of adult passerine birds from Montepulciano wetland (Siena, Italy) were assayed for trace elements between January and August 2006. Lead concentrations varied from 16.31 to 26.50 mg/kg and were found strictly related to the age of feathers. Copper levels were found to be high mainly in insectivorous birds (9.68 mg/kg) and were probably influenced by local use of copper-based agricultural fungicides. Mercury accumulation in feathers varied between species from 0.08 to 0.73 mg/kg. The role of feeding habits on trace elements levels in feathers and excreta is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract-Bird feathers have been widely used as a nondestructive biological material for monitoring heavy metals. Sources of metals taken up by feathers include diet (metals are incorporated during feather formation), preening, and direct contact with metals in water, air, dust, and plants. In the literature, data regarding the origin of trace elements in feathers are not univocal. Only in the vast literature concerning mercury (as methyl mercury) has endogenous origin been determined. In the present study, we investigate cadmium, lead, and mercury levels in feathers of prey of Falco eleonorae in relation to the ecological characteristics (molt, habitat, and contamination by soil) of the different species. Cluster analysis identified two main groups of species. Differences and correlations within and between groups identified by cluster analysis were then checked by nonparametric statistical analysis. The results showed that mercury levels had a pattern significantly different from those of cadmium and lead, which in turn showed a significant positive correlation, suggesting different origins. Nests of F. eleonorae proved to be a good source for feathers of small trans-Saharan passerines collected by a noninvasive method. They provided abundant feathers of the various species in a relatively small area—in this case, the falcon colony on the Isle of San Pietro, Sardinia, Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background . Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease with an unpredictable clinical course characterized by accumulation of activated proliferating T lymphocytes and mononuclear phagocytes in affected organs. Aims and methods . The aims of this study were to describe the clinical, radiological and immunological features of a population of sarcoidosis patients followed at the Sarcoidosis Regional Centre in Siena and to analyse chitotriosidase and sIL-2R concentrations in serum of these patients in order to understand their potential as disease markers. Results . Chitotriosidase and sIL-2R concentrations in serum of sarcoidosis patients were found to be significantly higher than in healthy controls (p<0.01) and a positive correlation between the two markers was documented for the first time. Moreover, chitotriosidase and sIL-2R were expressed differently in different radiographic stages of the disease. Conclusion . Chitotriosidase and sIL-2R are two markers of sarcoidosis of different origin, the values of which show a correlation in these patients; they are easily detectable in serum and could be useful clinical markers of progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Waterbirds are exposed to many contaminants, including lead from ingestion of shot and fishing sinkers. Lead poisoning had never been reported in flamingos wintering in Italian wetlands. Our investigation stems from a case of four flamingos found dead in Tuscany in 2002 with numerous lead shot in their gizzards. We therefore considered other specimens found dead in different Italian wetlands. Many lead shot found in gizzards and lead tissue concentrations confirmed the hypothesis of lead poisoning in two of the seven specimens analysed: concentrations in liver, kidney, and bone were 361.3, 265.09, and 43.31μg/g d.w., respectively. Lead organotropism was typical of acute poisoning. Cadmium and mercury were also determined, and found to be in line with what little data are available on this species in the literature. Although Italy recently endorsed the African–Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) prohibiting use of lead shot for hunting in wetlands, our results reveal a first case of lead shot poisoning in flamingos wintering in Italian wetlands. This evidence sounds a further warning of the problem of spent lead shot in countries where hunting in wetlands is not strictly regulated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Levels of Hg, Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn were assessed by using Posidonia oceanica as a bioindicator in the Gulf of Naples (southern Italy). Lepidochronology, which enables retroactive dating of scales and rhizomes of this seagrass, was combined with atomic spectrometry to assess temporal trends of trace elements in dated scales and rhizomes over a 10-year period. Lepidochronology occasionally has been used to monitor Hg in dated scales, but never has been used to determine concentrations of other trace elements in dated rhizomes. Data were compared between various structural parts of seagrass and between sampling sites. Concentrations of some elements found in dated scales or rhizomes showed a similar trend in most of the sites; increasing for Hg and Cu and decreasing for Pb, Fe, and Zn. Contaminant levels indicated by seagrass meadows varied from metal to metal. Concentrations of Hg, Cd, and Pb fell within the ranges measured in other areas considered to have low levels of heavy metal pollution, whereas Cu, Mn, and Zn had higher concentrations only in some years. However, on the basis of other studies, none of the sampling sites are considered to have high contamination levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Organisms in urban soil and walls reveal air pollutant deposition and bioavailability. • Pb is hardly accumulated by soil- and parietal-fauna and poses little health risk. • Airborne metals intercepted by holm oak foliage get bound in soils under canopy. • Quercus ilex , though a VOCs emitter, is the best native tree for Mediterranean towns. Long-term biomonitoring of atmospheric pollutants in Siena shows that organisms in urban ecosystems are an overlooked source of information on the deposition and environmental fate of chemicals that are not measured by automatic monitoring devices. Quercus ilex leaves and epiphytic lichens intercept airborne particulates and can be used as reliable quantitative biomonitors of metal deposition. Soils beneath holm oak trees have an enhanced sink capacity for metals and a noteworthy faunal diversity. Earthworms and land snails inhabiting those soils can help to evaluate metal bioavailability, their potential trophic transfer and health risks. Biological crusts, mosses and mollusks from vegetated urban walls appear even more reliable biomonitors of metal deposition. Although Siena is a town with its own architectural and climatic features and moderate atmospheric pollution mainly caused by vehicular traffic and domestic heating, our overview offers suggestions and guidance that can be adapted across different urban contexts, for enhancing the role of urban green ecosystems in the abatement and monitoring of atmospheric pollutants. Comparisons among the capabilities of different tree species to improve urban air quality indicate that in Mediterranean towns it would be difficult to select a better alternative to Q. ilex, although this species emits VOCs and contributes to O 3 formation, a pollutant now of major concern. Due to the decreased atmospheric concentrations of SO 2 and the scarce sensitivity of lichens to O 3 , in many towns lichen biodiversity seems no longer a valid indicator of air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]