Development of Comparative Toxicity Potentials of TiO₂ Nanoparticles for Use in Life Cycle Assessment

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Violin Master Class with Marilyn McDonald

Marilyn McDonald, a founding member of the Smithson Quartet and the Castle Trio, currently plays in the Axelrod Quartet in residence at the Smithsonian Institution and so named in honor of the donor of the decorated Stradivarius instruments on which the quartet performs.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/music_programs/1097/thumbnail.jp

AVALIAÇÃO DA QUALIDADE DAS ÁGUAS SUBTERRÂNEAS EM ÁREAS DE PRESERVAÇÃO PERMANENTE (SISTEMA AQUÍFERO GUARANI – SAG), BACIA HIDROGRÁFICA DO RIO PARDO, RS, BRASIL

The aim of this research was to evaluate the quality of groundwater in areas of permanent preservation (Guarani Aquifer System – GAS) in the Rio Pardo Hydrographical Basin, RS, Brazil, using physical, chemical and microbiological variables, based on resolution no. 396/2008 of the National Council on the Environment - CONAMA. Nine sampling points were distributed throughout the basin, where groundwater was classified as the major ions through the Piper diagram. The results indicated that most of the wells evaluated were classified in Class 4, accounting for water uses less restrictive. However, it should be considered that the aquifers are characterize by different geological conditions, having intrinsical physical, chemical and biological variables with hydrogeochemical variations, requiring that their quality levels are often based on these characteristics, as noted in diagram Piper, where the samples P1, P2, P3, P5 and P9 were classified as calcium bicarbonate, the waters of the points P4, P6, P7 as sodium bicarbonate and P8 as sulfated. It was found that the quality of water from wells with depths less than 6 m are becoming more vulnerable due to anthropogenic activities, as showing by the concentration of nitrate, total and thermotolerant coliforms, while the quality of water from deeper wells basically depends on their hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical characteristics based on the concentration of sodium and sulfate variables. However, they also showed contamination by human activities, mainly by the nitrate variable.O objetivo principal deste estudo foi avaliar a qualidade das águas subterrâneas em áreas de preservação permanente (Sistema Aqüífero Guarani – SAG) da Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio Pardo, RS, Brasil, através de variáveis físicas, químicas e microbiológicas, tendo como base a resolução nº 396 do Conselho Nacional do Meio Ambiente – CONAMA. Nove pontos de coleta foram distribuídos ao longo da bacia, nos quais as águas subterrâneas foram classificadas quanto aos íons de maior ocorrência quantitativa através do diagrama de Piper. Os resultados indicaram que a maioria dos poços avaliados enquadraram-se na Classe 4 de usos da água, correspondendo a águas de usos menos restritivos. Entretanto, deve-se considerar que os aquíferos se apresentam em diferentes contextos geológicos, e que possuem características físicas, químicas e biológicas intrínsecas, com variações hidrogeoquímicas, sendo necessário que as suas classes de qualidade sejam pautadas nessas especificidades, como se observou no diagrama de Piper, onde as amostras P1, P2, P3, P5 e P9 classificaram-se como bicarbonatadas cálcicas, as águas dos pontos P4, P6, P7 como bicarbonatadas sódicas e P8 se classificou como sulfatada. Verificou-se que a qualidade das águas de poços com profundidade inferior a 6 m está mais vulnerável devido a alterações antrópicas em função da concentração de nitrato, coliformes totais e termotolerantes, enquanto que a qualidade das águas de poços mais profundos depende basicamente de suas características hidrogeológicas e hidrogeoquímicas naturais, em função das variáveis sulfato e sódio. Contudo, também apresentaram contaminação por atividade antrópica, principalmente pela variável nitrato

Blanco DECam Bulge Survey (BDBS) IV: Metallicity Distributions and Bulge Structure from 2.6 Million Red Clump Stars

We present photometric metallicity measurements for a sample of 2.6 million bulge red clump stars extracted from the Blanco DECam Bulge Survey (BDBS). Similar to previous studies, we find that the bulge exhibits a strong vertical metallicity gradient, and that at least two peaks in the metallicity distribution functions appear at b < -5. We can discern a metal-poor ([Fe/H] ~ -0.3) and metal-rich ([Fe/H] ~ +0.2) abundance distribution that each show clear systematic trends with latitude, and may be best understood by changes in the bulge's star formation/enrichment processes. Both groups exhibit asymmetric tails, and as a result we argue that the proximity of a star to either peak in [Fe/H] space is not necessarily an affirmation of group membership. The metal-poor peak shifts to lower [Fe/H] values at larger distances from the plane while the metal-rich tail truncates. Close to the plane, the metal-rich tail appears broader along the minor axis than in off-axis fields. We also posit that the bulge has two metal-poor populations -- one that belongs to the metal-poor tail of the low latitude and predominantly metal-rich group, and another belonging to the metal-poor group that dominates in the outer bulge. We detect the X-shape structure in fields with |Z| > 0.7 kpc and for stars with [Fe/H] > -0.5. Stars with [Fe/H] < -0.5 may form a spheroidal or "thick bar" distribution while those with [Fe/H] > -0.1 are strongly concentrated near the plane.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS; the full data table is very long so only a stub table has been provided here; the full electronic table will be provided through MNRAS upon publication, but early access to the full table will be granted upon request to the author

Monitoring COVID‐19 vaccine effectiveness against COVID‐19 hospitalisation and death using electronic health registries in ≥65 years old population in six European countries, October 2021 to November 2022

Background: Within the ECDC-VEBIS project, we prospectively monitored vaccine effectiveness (VE) against COVID-19 hospitalisation and COVID-19-related death using electronic health registries (EHR), between October 2021 and November 2022, in community-dwelling residents aged 65-79 and ≥80 years in six European countries. Methods: EHR linkage was used to construct population cohorts in Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Navarre (Spain), Norway and Portugal. Using a common protocol, for each outcome, VE was estimated monthly over 8-week follow-up periods, allowing 1 month-lag for data consolidation. Cox proportional-hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (aHR) and VE = (1 - aHR) × 100%. Site-specific estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. Results: For ≥80 years, considering unvaccinated as the reference, VE against COVID-19 hospitalisation decreased from 66.9% (95% CI: 60.1; 72.6) to 36.1% (95% CI: -27.3; 67.9) for the primary vaccination and from 95.6% (95% CI: 88.0; 98.4) to 67.7% (95% CI: 45.9; 80.8) for the first booster. Similar trends were observed for 65-79 years. The second booster VE against hospitalisation ranged between 82.0% (95% CI: 75.9; 87.0) and 83.9% (95% CI: 77.7; 88.4) for the ≥80 years and between 39.3% (95% CI: -3.9; 64.5) and 80.6% (95% CI: 67.2; 88.5) for 65-79 years. The first booster VE against COVID-19-related death declined over time for both age groups, while the second booster VE against death remained above 80% for the ≥80 years. Conclusions: Successive vaccine boosters played a relevant role in maintaining protection against COVID-19 hospitalisation and death, in the context of decreasing VE over time. Multicountry data from EHR facilitate robust near-real-time VE monitoring in the EU/EEA and support public health decision-making.European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, Grant/Award Numbers ECDC/2021/018, RS/2022/DTS/24104.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio