Microplastics and nanoplastics represent one of the major environmental issues nowadays due to their ubiquitous presence on Earth, and their high potential danger for living systems, ecosystems, and human life. The formation of both microplastics and nanoplastics strongly depends on both the type of pristine materials and the degradation processes related to biological and/or abiotic conditions. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of two of the most relevant abiotic parameters, namely temperature and light, taken under direct control by using a Solar box, on five types of reference polymers: high density polyethylene (HDPE), low density polyethylene (LDPE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET). A multi-analytical approach was adopted to investigate in detail the first steps of plastics degradation. Samples of plastic materials at different degradation times were analyzed by means of ¹H NMR spectroscopy and thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) technique. Several minor molecular species released during degradation were consistently identified by both techniques thus providing a comprehensive view of the various degradation products of these five types of microplastics.

Background: Increasing evidence links meteorological characteristics and air pollution to physiological responses during sports activities in urban areas with different traffic levels. Objective: The main objective of the Smart Healthy ENV (SHE, “Smart Monitoring Integrated System For A Healthy Urban Environment In Smart Cities”) project was to identify the specific responses of a group of volunteers during physical activity, by monitoring their heart rates and collecting breath samples, combined with data on meteorological determinants and pollution substances obtained through fixed sensor nodes placed along city routes and remotely connected to a dedicated data acquisition server. Methods: Monitoring stations were placed along two urban routes in Pisa, each two km long, with one located within the park beside the Arno river (green route) and the other in a crowded traffic zone (red route). Our sample participants were engaged in sports activities (N = 15, with different levels of ability) and were monitored through wearable sensors. They were first asked to walk back and forth (4 km) and then to run the same route. The experimental sessions were conducted over one day per route. A breath sample was also collected before each test. A questionnaire concerning temperature and fatigue perception was administered for all of the steps of the study over the two days. Results: The heart rates of the participants were monitored in the baseline condition, during walking, and while running, and were correlated with meteorological and pollutant data and with breath composition. Changes in the heart rates and breath composition were detected during the experimental sessions. These variations were related to the physical activity and to the meteorological conditions and air pollution levels. Conclusions: The SHE project can be considered a proof-of-concept study aimed at monitoring physiological and environmental variables during physical activity in urban areas, and can be used in future studies to provide useful information to those involved in sports and the broader community.

We present an innovative, reliable, and antibody-free analytical method to determine multiple intact natriuretic peptides in human plasma. These biomolecules are routinely used to confirm the diagnosis and monitor the evolution of heart failure, so that their determination is essential to improve diagnosis and monitor the efficacy of treatment. However, common immunoassay kits suffer from main limitations due to high cross-reactivity with structurally similar species. In our method, we pre-treated the sample by combining salting-out with ammonium sulfate with microextraction by packed sorbent technique. Analyses were then carried out by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. The use of 3-nitrobenzyl alcohol as a supercharger reagent enhanced the ESI ionization and improved the signal-to-noise ratio. The analytical protocol showed good linearity over one order of magnitude, recovery in the range of 94–105 %, and good intra- and inter-day reproducibility (RSD<20 %), and the presence of a matrix effect. Limits of detection were in the range of pg/mL for all peptides (0.2–20 pg/mL). Stability study in plasma samples demonstrated that proper protease inhibitors need to be included in blood collection tubes to avoid peptide degradation. Preliminary analyses on plasma samples from heart failure patients allow the quantification of ANP 1–28 as the most abundant species and the detection of ANP 5–28, BNP 1–32, and BNP 5–32. The method could be used to investigate how cross-reactivity issues among structurally similar species impact determinations by ELISA kits.

The release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from sweat pads is modulated by both material composition and conditions of use, particularly moisture content and thermal treatment. In this study, we investigated the impact of water addition and heat exposure on VOC emissions from cotton and viscose–polyester sweat pads using dynamic headspace sampling coupled with two-dimensional gas chromatography–high-resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometry (DHS-GCxGC-QTOF-MS). Water addition led to a pronounced increase in VOC release — including key VOCs with low ppbv odor thresholds like acetic acid, 2,4-nonadienal and 2,3-butanedione — with at least a five-fold increase observed for 110 compounds extracted from cotton pads at ambient temperature. Extraction at elevated temperature (60 °C) resulted in even higher fold changes in VOC release. The emission patterns differed markedly between materials: VOC release from cotton pads followed an exponential trend, while viscose–polyester pads showed a biphasic response — initially exponential, then more linear at higher moisture levels. Heat treatment at 150 °C prior to water dosing further amplified VOC emissions, particularly in cotton pads, where over two-thirds of detected compounds exhibited increased release. These observations suggest that cellulose–water interactions play a fundamental role in mediating VOC emission dynamics. Our findings highlight the material- and condition-dependent variability in VOC release from sweat pads and underscore the need for rigorous control of hydration and thermal effects in chemical and psychophysical studies involving olfactory stimuli. Given the widespread use of cotton pads in psychological and chemosensory research, these methodological considerations are critical for ensuring reliable chemical analysis and reproducible perceptual outcomes.