Relationships between size and abundance in beach plastics: A power-law approach

Sandy beaches are one of the most relevant coastal environments in terms of socio-ecological and economical value. So, the presence and accumulation of plastic litter determines a degradation of these values, and calls for management actions for cleaning are required. In this research, we investigated the features of plastic litter distribution on a Mediterranean beach in relation to size and abundance of the sampled items. Simple allometric models were applied with the aim to provide a parsimonious tool for estimating the amount and sizes of the beach plastic litter. The results show effective relations between size and abundance of plastic items according to the power-law distribution. This relationship could support decision-makers to estimate the total amount of beach plastics through the application of a simple model instead of more complex models requiring the estimation of many parameters and the availability of large datasets

Current limitations and future prospects of detection and biomonitoring of NIS in the Mediterranean Sea through environmental DNA

The biodiversity of the Mediterranean Sea is currently threatened by the introduction of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS). Therefore, monitoring the distribution of NIS is of utmost importance to preserve the ecosystems. A promising approach for the identification of species and the assessment of biodiversity is the use of DNA barcoding, as well as DNA and eDNA metabarcoding. Currently, the main limitation in the use of genomic data for species identification is the incompleteness of the DNA barcode databases. In this research, we assessed the availability of DNA barcodes in the main reference libraries for the most updated inventory of 665 confirmed NIS in the Mediterranean Sea, with a special focus on the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) barcode and primers. The results of this study show that there are no barcodes for 33.18% of the species in question, and that 45.30% of the 382 species with COI barcode, have no primers publicly available. This highlights the importance of directing scientific efforts to fill the barcode gap of specific taxonomic groups in order to help in the effective application of the eDNA technique for investigating the occurrence and the distribution of NIS in the Mediterranean Se

An Overview of Ecological Indicators of Fish to Evaluate the Anthropogenic Pressures in Aquatic Ecosystems: From Traditional to Innovative DNA-Based Approaches

In order to halt the loss of global biodiversity and considering the United Nations Decade for Ocean Conservation Agenda, increasing efforts to improve biomonitoring programs and assessment of ecosystem health are needed. Aquatic environments are among the most complex to monitor, requiring an array of tools to assess their status and to define conservation targets. Although several parameters need to be considered for a comprehensive ecological status assessment, it is important to identify easy-to-apply high-resolution monitoring methods. Shifts in fish composition and abundance are often good indicators of ecosystem health status in relation to anthropogenic activities. However, traditional monitoring methods are strictly related to the habitat under study and cannot be applied universally. This review summarizes the importance of ecological indicators for aquatic environments subjected to anthropogenic stressors, with a particular focus on fish communities and transitional water ecosystems. We describe the main characteristics of both traditional and novel methods for fish monitoring, highlighting their advantages and shortcomings in an attempt to identify simple and reliable ways for a correct evaluation of the dynamics of aquatic ecosystems

Sífilis: um panorama epidemiológico do Brasil e do município de Volta Redonda/RJ / Syphilis: an epidemiological overview of Brazil and the municipality of Volta Redonda / RJ

A sífilis é uma doença infectocontagiosa, uma enfermidade sistêmica, curável e exclusiva do ser humano. É causada por uma espiroqueta, a Treponema pallidum, e tem como principal via de transmissão o contato sexual, seguido pela transmissão vertical, e também pode ser transmitida por transfusão sanguínea, porém, é incomum na atualidade. A Sífilis é uma doença de notificação compulsória regular (em até sete dias), tanto a forma adquirida, congênita, quanto a sífilis na gestante. A notificação e vigilância são imprescindíveis para interromper a cadeia de transmissão e indicar as medidas de controle. O número de casos de sífilis no Brasil aumentou no período de 2014 a 2016, um dos motivos foi o desabastecimento da penicilina benzatina, isso ocorreu em nível global, além do aumento de notificação que pode ser atribuído a ampliação da distribuição do teste rápido. Em 2016, foram notificados no Brasil 87.593 casos de sífilis adquirida, a sífilis em gestantes foi de 12,4 casos a cada 1.000 nascidos vivos, e a sífilis congênita foram notificados um total de 20.474 casos. Vale ressaltar, que a sífilis na gestação causa mais de 300 mil mortes fetais e neonatais por ano no mundo. Ao analisar o retrato da sífilis no município de Volta Redonda/RJ, entre o período de 2012 a 2017, detectou-se um significativo aumento nos casos a partir de 2014, com cerca de 50% do total registrados em 2017. Sendo notificados, o total absoluto, 231 casos de sífilis adquirida, 172 em gestante e 80 na forma congênita. Na prática clínica podemos observar a existência de carência de informações acerca da sífilis, tanto por parte da população quanto por parte dos profissionais de saúde, nesse último, percebemos discrepância em relação à conduta diagnóstica e tratamento. O seu desconhecimento torna a problemática das DST ainda maior. Para o combate a sífilis, é fundamental a instituição de normas, que visem à promoção de ações, por equipe qualificada, direcionadas ao controle da doença, incluindo ações de notificação, busca ativa, tratamento adequado e acompanhamento sorológico para comprovação da cura, a fim de que possam ser propostas mudanças que impliquem em um melhor enfrentamento da doença e, por sua vez, numa melhor qualidade de vida

Between a rock and a hard place: Environmental and engineering considerations when designing coastal defence structures

Coastal defence structures are proliferating as a result of rising sea levels and stormier seas. With the realisation that most coastal infrastructure cannot be lost or removed, research is required into ways that coastal defence structures can be built to meet engineering requirements, whilst also providing relevant ecosystem services—so-called ecological engineering. This approach requires an understanding of the types of assemblages and their functional roles that are desirable and feasible in these novel ecosystems. We review the major impacts coastal defence structures have on surrounding environments and recent experiments informing building coastal defences in a more ecologically sustainable manner. We summarise research carried out during the THESEUS project (2009–2014) which optimised the design of coastal defence structures with the aim to conserve or restore native species diversity. Native biodiversity could be manipulated on defence structures through various interventions: we created artificial rock pools, pits and crevices on breakwaters; we deployed a precast habitat enhancement unit in a coastal defence scheme; we tested the use of a mixture of stone sizes in gabion baskets; and we gardened native habitat-forming species, such as threatened canopy-forming algae on coastal defence structures. Finally, we outline guidelines and recommendations to provide multiple ecosystem services while maintaining engineering efficacy. This work demonstrated that simple enhancement methods can be cost-effective measures to manage local biodiversity. Care is required, however, in the wholesale implementation of these recommendations without full consideration of the desired effects and overall management goals

Analisi di emissioni condotte con il metodo Empirical Mode Decomposition

Il lavoro svolto riguarda lo studio delle emissioni condotte nel range di frequenza compreso fra 2-150 kHz. Il metodo implementato è la trasformata di Hilbert-Huang, la quale è stata implementata in ambiente R

The influence of working capital on corporate performance: evidence from Latin America

This paper provides evidence of the effect of Working Capital Management (WCM) on the performance of Latin America companies. The study also investigates whether the effect of WCM on performance differs between “small” and “big” firms. The paper employs Panel data regression analysis on a sample of 117 non-financial firms over an eleven-year period (2005-2015). The results show that WCM has a convex relationship with performance. However, the results suggest that WCM is relatively more important for the performance of “big” companies than “small” companies. Overall, the study proves that WCM components do affect the performance of Latin America firms

evidence from Latin America

This paper provides evidence of the effect of Working Capital Management (WCM) on the performance of Latin America companies. The study also investigates whether the effect of WCM on performance differs between “small” and “big” firms. The paper employs Panel data regression analysis on a sample of 117 non-financial firms over an eleven-year period (2005-2015). The results show that WCM has a convex relationship with performance. However, the results suggest that WCM is relatively more important for the performance of “big” companies than “small” companies. Overall, the study proves that WCM components do affect the performance of Latin America firms

Development of a fuzzy-Bayesian joint approach to ecosystem analysis and modelling: application to coastal marine ecosystem

Nell’attuale contesto di aumento degli impatti antropici e di “Global Climate Change” emerge la necessità di comprenderne i possibili effetti di questi sugli ecosistemi inquadrati come fruitori di servizi e funzioni imprescindibili sui quali si basano intere tessiture economiche e sociali. Lo studio previsionale degli ecosistemi si scontra con l’elevata complessità di questi ultimi in luogo di una altrettanto elevata scarsità di osservazioni integrate. L’approccio modellistico appare il più adatto all’analisi delle dinamiche complesse degli ecosistemi ed alla contestualizzazione complessa di risultati sperimentali ed osservazioni empiriche. L’approccio riduzionista-deterministico solitamente utilizzato nell’implementazione di modelli non si è però sin qui dimostrato in grado di raggiungere i livelli di complessità più elevati all’interno della struttura eco sistemica. La componente che meglio descrive la complessità ecosistemica è quella biotica in virtù dell’elevata dipendenza dalle altre componenti e dalle loro interazioni. In questo lavoro di tesi viene proposto un approccio modellistico stocastico basato sull’utilizzo di un compilatore naive Bayes operante in ambiente fuzzy. L’utilizzo congiunto di logica fuzzy e approccio naive Bayes è utile al processa mento del livello di complessità e conseguentemente incertezza insito negli ecosistemi. I modelli generativi ottenuti, chiamati Fuzzy Bayesian Ecological Model(FBEM) appaiono in grado di modellizare gli stati eco sistemici in funzione dell’ elevato numero di interazioni che entrano in gioco nella determinazione degli stati degli ecosistemi. Modelli FBEM sono stati utilizzati per comprendere il rischio ambientale per habitat intertidale di spiagge sabbiose in caso di eventi di flooding costiero previsti nell’arco di tempo 2010-2100. L’applicazione è stata effettuata all’interno del progetto EU “Theseus” per il quale i modelli FBEM sono stati utilizzati anche per una simulazione a lungo termine e per il calcolo dei tipping point specifici dell’habitat secondo eventi di flooding di diversa intensità.In the current environmental context, it emerges the need to understand all the possible effects of the increase of the anthropic impact and the “Global Climate Change” on the ecosystems, considered as the main users of services and essential functions upon which whole economic and social textures are based. The forecast study of the ecosystems collides with the high complexity of them and with the lack of integrated observations. The model approach seems to be the most appropriate for the analysis of the complex dynamics of the ecosystems and the contextualization of experimental results and empiric observations. The reductionist-deterministic approach, which generally is used in the implementation of the models, has not been able to reach higher levels of complexity within the structure of the ecosystem. The biotic factor is the component that best describes the complexity of the ecosystem, because of the high dependency upon the other components and their interactions. In this thesis, it is suggested a new stochastic and model approach based on the employment of a naive-Bayesian compiler operating within a fuzzy environment. The combined employment of fuzzy logic and naive-Bayesian approach is useful to process the high degree of uncertainty of the ecosystems. The obtained generative models, called Fuzzy Bayesian Ecological Models (FBEM) are able to modelize the states of the ecosystems as functions of the high number of interactions. FBEM models have been used to understand the environmental risk for the intertidale habitat of sand beaches in case of coast flooding events forecasted from 2010 to 2100. The application has been developed within the EU “Theseus” Project, in which the FBEM models have been used also for a long term simulation and for the computation of the tipping points specific of the habitat depending on flooding events of different intensity