Relocating the future: biographical objects, aspiration, and repair in urban Taipei.

How might urban relocation unfold as a time of social reproduction? Taking the case of Zhongxin Village in Taipei, a military settlement that was relocated in 2016, I show in this article that while mainland Chinese veterans experienced the move with reluctance, their Taiwanese wives readily stepped up to bridge family histories. Offering new ethnography on 'family repair' and the arranging of ancestral altars, I suggest that loss is often not the only force at play when moving home. The Taiwanese wives of Zhongxin Village recount family stories that are elicited through their engagement with 'biographical objects'. They transmit family lore through daily acts of care even as they project aspirations for the futures of their descendants onto the furnishing of new flats. This marriage of materiality, aspiration, repair, and affect shows that relocation can encourage the social reproduction of the family and, for some, a move from remembrance to aspiration.

Relocaliser le futur : objets biographiques, aspiration et réparation dans la ville de TaipeiRésuméComment la relocalisation urbaine peut­elle se dérouler comme un moment de reproduction sociale ? En prenant le cas du village de Zhongxing à Taipei, une colonie militaire relocalisée en 2016, l'autrice montre dans cet article que si les vétérans de Chine continentale ont vécu le déménagement avec réticence, leurs épouses taïwanaises se sont volontiers mobilisées pour rapprocher les histoires familiales. En proposant une nouvelle ethnographie sur la « réparation familiale ¼ et l'aménagement des autels ancestraux, l'autrice suggère qu'un déménagement n'implique pas uniquement la perte. Les épouses taïwanaises du village de Zhongxing racontent des histoires familiales suscitées par leur relation avec des « objets biographiques ¼. Elles transmettent les traditions familiales à travers des soins quotidiens, et dans le même temps, elles projettent leurs aspirations concernant l'avenir de leurs descendants sur l'ameublement de nouveaux appartements. Ce mariage de la matérialité, de l'aspiration, de la réparation et de l'affect montre que la relocalisation peut encourager la reproduction sociale de la famille et, pour certains, le passage du souvenir à l'aspiration.

Levels of trace elements in human hair samples of adolescents living near petrochemical plants.

The aim of the study is a comparative analysis to investigate human hair metal profiles of adolescents residing near petrochemical plants (Sicily, Italy). We selected the small town of Augusta, Gela, and Pace del Mela, and a control area made up of the towns characterized by low anthropogenic activity. Twenty trace elements were measured in samples of scalp hair from adolescents (11-14 years old) of both genders. Hair samples were cleaned using a rigorous cleaning method, mineralized, and processed for analyses by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In industrial sites, zinc was always the most abundant element, ranging from186 to 217 µg g-1. Following zinc, the elements Al, Ba, Cu, Fe, and Sr were in the range 1-20 µg g-1. The remaining elements had concentrations < 1 µg g-1. The comparison with adolescents living in suburban area highlighted that As, Ba, Mn, Sr, U, and V have the highest median concentrations in an industrial location. An industrial factor (As, Mn, Sr, U, and V) and an urban factor (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, and Sb) were distinguished by the multivariate statistical analysis between a cohort residing in urban and industrial areas. Statistically significant differences (Kruskal-Wallis test, p < 0.05) between the genders were found for Ba, Mn, Ni, Sr, and V in all industrial sites with median concentrations higher in females' hair than males'. The data confirm that the study areas are heavily affected by industrial and urban emissions of metals and metalloids, representing a potential hazard to the local population.

Source and nature of inhaled atmospheric dust from trace element analyses of human bronchial fluids.

Rapid volcanic eruptions quickly ejecting large amounts of dust provoke the accumulation of heavy metals in people living in surrounding areas. Analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage samples (BAL) collected from people exposed to the paroxysmal 2001 Etna eruption revealed a strong enrichment of many toxic heavy metals. Comparing the BAL to the dust composition of southeastern Sicily, we found that only V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and U enrichment could be related to the volcanic event, whereas Ni, Cu, Cd, and Pb contents come from the dissolution of particles of anthropogenic origin. Furthermore, the nature of these inhaled anthropogenic particles was revealed by anomalous La and partially Ce concentrations in BAL that were consistent with a mixture of road dust and petroleum refinery emissions. Our results indicate that trace element distribution in BAL is a suitable tracer of human exposure to different sources of inhaled atmospheric particulates, allowing investigations into the origin of source materials inhaled by people subjected to atmospheric fallout.

ATR-FTIR Spectral Analysis and Soluble Components of PM10 And PM2.5 Particulate Matter over the Urban Area of Palermo (Italy) during Normal Days and Saharan Events.

Several epidemiological studies have shown a close relationship between the mass of particulate matter (PM) and its effects on human health. This study reports the identification of inorganic and organic components by attenuated total reflectance-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis in PM10 and PM2.5 filters collected from three air quality monitoring stations in the city of Palermo (Sicily, Italy) during non-Saharan dust events and Saharan events. It also provides information on the abundance and types of water-soluble species. ATR-FTIR analysis identified sulfate, ammonium, nitrate, and carbonate matter characterized by vibrational frequencies at 603, 615, 670, and 1100 cm-1 (SO42-); at 1414 cm-1 (NH4+); at 825 and 1356 cm-1 (NO3-); and at 713, 730, and 877 cm-1 (CO32-) in PM10 and PM2.5 filters. Moreover, aliphatic hydrocarbons were identified in the collected spectra. Stretching frequencies at 2950 cm-1 were assigned to CH3 aliphatic carbon stretching absorptions, while frequencies at 2924 and 2850 cm-1 indicated CH2 bonds. In filters collected during Saharan dust events, the analysis also showed the presence of absorbance peaks typical of clay minerals. The measurement of soluble components confirmed the presence of a geogenic component (marine spray and local rocks) and secondary particles ((NH4)2SO4, NH4NO3) in the PM filters. ATR-FTIR characterization of solid surfaces is a powerful analytical technique for identifying inorganic and organic compounds in samples of particulate matter.

Trace elements in scalp hair samples from patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Epidemiological studies have suggested a possible role of trace elements (TE) in the etiology of several neurological diseases including Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Hair analysis provides an easy tool to quantify TE in human subjects, including patients with neurodegenerative diseases. OBJECTIVE: To compare TE levels in scalp hair from patients with MS and healthy controls from the same geographic area (Sicily). METHODS: ICP-MS was used to determine the concentrations of 21 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Se, Sr, U, V and Zn) in scalp hair of 48 patients with relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis compared with 51 healthy controls. RESULTS: MS patients showed a significantly lower hair concentration of aluminum and rubidium (median values: Al = 3.76 µg/g vs. 4.49 µg/g and Rb = 0.007 µg/g vs. 0.01 µg/g;) and higher hair concentration of U (median values U: 0.014 µg/g vs. 0.007 µg/g) compared to healthy controls. The percentages of MS patients showing hair elemental concentrations greater than the 95th percentile of controls were 20% for Ni, 19% for Ba and U, and 15% for Ag, Mo and Se. Conversely, the percentages of MS patients showing hair elemental concentrations lower than the 5th percentile of healthy controls were 27% for Al, 25% for Rb, 22% for Ag, 19% for Fe, and 16% for Pb. No significant association was found between levels of each TE and age, disease duration or Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score. After stratification by gender, healthy subjects did not show any significant difference in trace element levels, while MS patients showed significant differences (p<0.01) for the concentrations of Ag, Cr, Fe, Ni and Sr. No significant differences were also found, at p<0.01, in relation to the use of cigarettes, consume of water, vegetables and place of living. CONCLUSION: The different distributions of TE in hair of MS patients compared to controls provides an additional indirect evidence of metabolic imbalance of chemical elements in the pathogenesis of this disease. The increase in U and decrease in Al and Rb levels in MS compared to controls require further assessments as well as the observed different distributions of other elements.