Impacts of wildfires on hydrological ecosystem services

Forest and natural landscapes are usually considered to provide increased hydrological services over agriculture due to increased vegetation cover. Natural vegetation is expected to protect soils against erosion, regulate floods by increasing litter and soil water retention and decreased sediment yield. Afforestation is therefore used to control floods and prevent soil degradation, and water supplies are usually taken from forested watersheds. In the second half of the XXth century, agricultural abandonment in the northern rim of the Mediterranean led to extensive afforestation and renaturalization, and Mediterranean landscapes are now assumed to provide more hydrological services than before. However, Mediterranean forests are also prone to wildfires, which destroy the vegetation cover, changes soil properties with decreased soil water retention and create a highly mobile ash layer which can contaminate streams. These impacts temporarily negate the hydrological ecosystem services forests normally provided; and in regions subjected to frequent and recurring fires, it is possible that the long-term service provisioning is severely impacted. Nevertheless, forest management strategies ranging from emergency post-fire stabilization measures to structural landscape management can help mitigate these issues and prevent ecosystem service disruptions in fire-prone forests. This presentation will address this issue from a Mediterranean perspective, starting with an overview of post-fire impacts and consequences, and presenting results for a humid Mediterranean fire-prone area

Temporal evolution of dengue fever in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, 1994 - 2003

Este estudo caracteriza-se epidemiológico-descritivo com objetivo de descrever a evolução temporal dos casos de dengue em Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, no período de 1994 a 2003, segundo mês de ocorrência e sexo. Os dados foram obtidos junto às fichas de notificação compulsória fornecidas pela Vigilância Epidemiológica da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde do município. Foram obtidos os coeficientes de incidência por 100.000 habitantes, segundo estimativas populacionais do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. O município viveu uma epidemia de dengue no ano de 2001, quando o coeficiente de incidência chegou a 619,65 casos/100.000 habitantes, sendo que dentre os 5.553 casos encontrados no período estudado, 0,07% ocorreram no ano de 1994, 3,68% em 1995, 4,52% em 1996, 2,40% em 1997, 1,82% em 1998, 5,73% em 1999, 3,75% em 2000, 57,37% em 2001, 6,25% em 2002 e, 14,39% em 2003 . Os meses do ano de maior ocorrência da doença foram de janeiro a maio. Em relação à variável sexo, a proporção entre o número de casos foi de aproximadamente 1:1, mostrando pequenas flutuações de casos de dengue entre homens e mulheres, para todo período estudado. Os resultados apontam a necessidade do desenvolvimento de estudos sobre a temática e reforçam o papel das instituições de ensino na questão da dengue no nosso país.This epidemiological-descriptive study aimed to describe the temporal evolution of dengue cases in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo State, between 1994 and 2003, according to month of occurrence and gender. Data were obtained from the compulsory notification forms provided by the Epidemiological Surveillance service of the Ribeirão Preto Municipal Health Secretary. We obtained incidence coefficients per 100,000 inhabitants, according to population estimates by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The city experienced a dengue epidemic in 2001, when the incidence coefficient reached 619.65 cases/100,000 inhabitants. We found 5553 cases during the study period, 0.07% of which occurred in 1994, 3.68% in 1995, 4.52% in 1996, 2.40% in 1997, 1.82% in 1998, 5.73% in 1999, 3.75% in 2000, 57.37% in 2001, 6.25% in 2002 and 14.39% in 2003. January to May were the months with the highest occurrence levels. As to the gender variable, we found a proportion of approximately 1:1, showing small fluctuations between men and women for dengue cases during the entire study period. Results indicate the need to study the theme and reinforce the role of teaching institutions to tackle dengue in Brazil.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

The use of the "Progressive Muscle Relaxation" technique for pain relief in gynecology and obstetrics

Pain is one of the most frequent symptoms observed in patients and various treatments are proposed for its relief, including relaxation techniques. With the purpose of testing the effect of a specific intervention (progressive muscle relaxation) in a determined situation (pain), this study aimed at verifying the level of pain in post-surgery patients prior to and after the application of the Progressive Muscle Relaxation technique. The subjects, 61 patients, had been submitted to abdominal surgical interventions, of which 52.5% had a gynecological nature and 47.5% obstetrical. Our data showed statistically significant alterations in life parameters as well as muscular alterations after the application of the Progressive Muscle Relaxation technique. It was concluded that the use of the Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique enabled the subjects to determine that their pain levels decreased.El dolor es uno de los más frecuentes síntomas observados en pacientes. Varios son los tratamientos propuestos para alivio, incluyéndose las técnicas de relajamiento progresivo muscular. Con el propósito de probar el efecto de una intervención específica (relajamiento muscular progresivo) en determinada situación (dolor), tuvimos como objetivo en el presente estudio, verificar el nivel de dolor en pacientes post-quirúrgicos antes y después de la aplicación de la técnica de Relajamiento Muscular Progresivo. Se registraron como sujetos 61 pacientes que se sometieron a intervención quirúrgica abdominal, siendo 52.5% de naturaleza ginecológica y 47.5% obstétrica. Los datos demostraron alteraciones estadísticamente significativas de parámetros vitales y alteraciones musculares después de la aplicación de la técnica de Relajamiento Muscular Progresivo. Concluimos que el uso de la técnica de relajamiento empleada permitió a los sujetos evaluar que su nivel de dolor disminuyó.Dor é um dos mais freqüentes sintomas observados em pacientes. Vários são os tratamentos propostos para o seu alívio, incluindo-se as técnicas de relaxamento muscular progressivo. Com o propósito de testar o efeito de uma intervenção específica (relaxamento) em uma determinada situação (dor) tivemos como objetivo no presente estudo verificar o nível de dor em pacientes pós-cirúrgicos antes e após a aplicação da técnica de Relaxamento Muscular Progressivo. Foram sujeitos 61 pacientes que se submeteram à intervenção cirúrgica abdominal, sendo 52,5% de natureza ginecológica e 47,5% obstétrica. Nossos dados demonstraram alterações estatisticamente significantes de parâmetros vitais e alterações musculares, após aplicação da técnica de Relaxamento Muscular Progressivo. Concluímos que o uso da técnica de relaxamento empregada permitiu aos sujeitos avaliar que seu nível de dor diminuiu

Regional planning of river protection and restoration to promote ecosystem services and nature conservation

[Except] International conservation and sustainability agendas (CBD, 2010; European Union, 2011; IPBES, 2018; United Nations, 2018) have repeatedly called for conservation, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as the enhancement of ecosystem services and benefits to society. These calls are particularly relevant for freshwater ecosystems, which combine conservation interest and high societal value through the supply of multiple ecosystem services (Tharme, Tickner, Hughes, Conallin, & Zielinski, 2018). Freshwater habitats, biodiversity and ecological functions are also amongst the most threatened worldwide, due to a broad range of anthropogenic pressures (IPBES, 2018; Reid et al., 2019). In the European Union, 63% of river and lake habitats protected under the Habitats Directive are considered to hold “Unfavourable” conservation status, and 60% of water bodies are not in “Good” ecological status (IPBES, 2018). [...]Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) through a doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BD/115030/2016) co-financed by the European Social Fund through the Human Capital Operational Program (POCH), the North Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE2020) and national funds from the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES). CV would like to acknowledge the support of the Portuguese Infrastructure of Scientific Collections (POCI-01-0145FEDER-022168) (PRISC.pt). JG developed this work within the scope of the project proMetheus – Research Unit on Materials, Energy and Environment for Sustainability, FCT Ref. UID/05975/2020, financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTE

Do lápis à lente: o texto visual de César Pinto sobre a esquistossomose

O presente informe de pesquisa apresenta algumas considerações acerca de uma pesquisa doutoral que se encontra em curso, no Programa de Pós-graduação em Ciência da Informação, da Universidade Federal da Paraíba. A problemática dessa investi-gação se centra na questão da aceitação e utilização das ilustrações científicas como documento para a comunicação e cons-trução do conhecimento científico na Ciência da Informação. O objetivo principal da referida investigação é analisar o siste-ma de comunicação científica visual elaborado por César Pinto a partir do álbum Schistosomiasis mansoni, para compreender as práticas informacionais elaboradas na década de 1940, partindo do pressuposto de que a comunicação científica visual possibilita a compreensão de um conjunto de informações elaborado a partir de vários códigos visuais que representam a per-cepção e a lógica da estruturação de um campo científico, constituindo, assim, o seu habitus. Dessa forma, a abordagem fun-damenta-se na matriz teórico metodológica do Construtivismo Estrutural, que será norteada pelos conceitos de Bourdieu de habitus e campo (BOURDIEU, 2004), que dão conta de como os indivíduos interiorizam e exteriorizam as práticas sociais que os definem. A pesquisa em curso justifica-se pela incipiência, na área da Ciência da Informação, de trabalhos que con-templem a comunicação científica a partir dos registros imagéticos. Dessa forma, espera-se que as considerações aqui postas possibilitem e intensifiquem a discussão acerca dos documentos fotográficos, entendidos como canal para a comunicação científica visual, além da contribuição para a preservação da memória científica brasileira, bem como para a elaboração de estudos futuros que contemplem tal temática

Estudo clinico-epidemiológico de 27 envenenamentos causados pela ingestão de baiacus (Tetrodontidae) nos estados de Santa Catarina e Bahia, Brasil

Os baiacus ou peixes-bola podem ser venenosos devido à presença em seus tecidos corporais de Tetrodotoxina e/ou Saxitoxina, ambas potentes neurotoxinas. Os autores relatam 27 envenenamentos por ingestão da carne de baiacus. Os pacientes foram atendidos nos Centros de Toxicologia de Santa Catarina e da Bahia de 1984 a 2009. Os acidentes foram classificados em moderados (52%) e graves (33%), havendo dois óbitos. O diagnóstico precoce é fundamental no sentido de garantir suporte ventilatório aos pacientes.Puffer fish can be poisonous due to the presence of the potent neurotoxins such as Tetrodotoxin (TTX) and Saxitoxin (STX) found in its tissues. The authors report 27 human poisonings from ingestion of puffer fish in patients treated at Toxicology Centers in the states of Santa Catarina and Bahia, Brazil, between 1984 and January 2009. Poisonings were classified as moderate (52%) and severe (33%), two deaths were observed. Early diagnosis is very important to ensure respiratory support

Remote sensing indicators to assess riparian vegetation and river ecosystem health

Environmental managers need information to quickly detect which stressor combinations should be addressed to reverse river degradation across large study areas. The pivotal role of riparian vegetation in regulating thermal regimes and inputs of light, nutrients and organic matter has made it a major target of stressor-mitigation and conservation actions. However, due to the dendritic and extensive nature of river networks, field-based monitoring of local riparian conditions is expensive and time-consuming. Ongoing developments in remote sensing offer an unparalleled opportunity to address this challenge. Nonetheless, there is still a limited understanding of the capacity of remote sensing indicators to predict changes in local riparian and river conditions, urging for local calibration with in situ measurements. This study aims to evaluate the capacity of remote sensing to detect impacts on quality elements commonly used in river biomonitoring: riparian vegetation, abiotic river condition and macrophyte biomass. To this end, four remote sensing metrics were tested against field-based indicators in 50 stream locations from four river basins across the Northwest of Portugal: i) the lateral riparian continuity at reach scale (riparian forest buffer width), ii) the riparian vegetation density at reach scale (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI100m), and iii) the land use intensification at both reach (LUI100m) and iv) segment (LUI500m) scales. We found that the combination of remote sensing variables (riparian forest buffer width and the land use intensification index) correlated with riparian vegetation quality and dissolved inorganic nitrogen concentrations. We also found that the riparian vegetation density was able to predict changes in vascular plant biomass except for bryophytes. Our study provides new insights on the capacity of satellite-based indicators to assess riparian and river health, illustrating their utility for land and water managers, to identify and monitor, at a reduced cost and time, po- This work was supported by the River2Ocean project (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000068), co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (NORTE 2020).The work was also supported by the "Contrato-Programa" UIDB/04050/2020 funded by national funds through the FCT I.P., the Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA). CG-C was supported by a "Juan de la Cierva -Incoporacion" contract (MINECO, IJC2018-036642-I). CCS was supported by the "Financiamento Programatico" UIDP/04050/2020 funded by national funds through the FCT I.P

Combined antibiotic therapy spacers either commercial or handmade are superior to monotherapy – a microbiological analysis at the second stage of revision

Background: Antibiotic-loaded spacers are often used during two-stage exchange for periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) both for its mechanical properties and as a means of local antibiotic delivery. Purpose: The main goal of this study is to compare the efficacy of different options of antibiotic(s) in spacers concerning the rate of positive cultures at the second stage. Patients and Methods: We retrospectively evaluated two-stage exchange procedures for infected hip or knee arthroplasty performed between 2012 and 2018 in which adequate (at least four deep tissue samples) culture results in both stages were available. The type of spacer and antibiotics used, in addition to several other patient, infection and treatment-related variables, were registered and correlated to microbiological findings in the second stage. Results: Fifty-eight cases were included with a 19.0 % (11/58) overall rate of positive cultures during reimplantation. With a mean follow-up of 46 months, failure rate was significantly higher at 63.6 % (7/11) in cases with positive cultures at reimplantation compared to 4.3 % (2/47) for those with negative cultures during reimplantation ( p < 0.001). The need for additional surgeries was also significantly higher (odds ratio (OR) 122.67, confidence interval (CI) 95 % 11.30-1331.32, p < 0.001). Multivariable analysis revealed antibiotics in the spacers were the main independent prognostic risk factor associated with positive cultures at the second stage with an advantage for combined antibiotics. Monotherapy is associated with failure with an OR of 16.99. Longer time between surgeries did not have statistical significance ( p = 0.05), and previous surgical treatment for PJI, presence of difficult-to-treat microorganism(s), duration of systemic antibiotic therapy or even treatment within a dedicated septic team were not shown to be independent risk factors. Among combined antibiotic spacers, there were no significant differences between the rate of positive cultures during the second stage, comparing commercially available vancomycin/gentamicin spacers to hand-mixed vancomycin/meropenem manufactured spacers (8.3 % [2/24] vs. 15.0 % [3/20], p = 0.68). Conclusions: Results show that combined antibiotic therapy spacers are advantageous when compared to gentamicin monotherapy as they produce significantly lower rates of subsequent positive cultures during the second stage. Hand-mixed high-dose vancomycin/meropenem spacers seem to perform just as well as prefabricated commercially available vancomycin/gentamicin options. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic level III.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

COMUNICAÇÃO CIENTÍFICA: análise bibliométrica sobre a esquistossomose (1940-1949)

Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo realizar um levantamento bibliográfico sobre a esquistossomose, em relação ao período de 1940 a 1949, em que se concentrou a maior produção de trabalhos, desde a descoberta da doença, no território nacional, até o aumento da contaminação da população por essa verminose. Para atingir esse objetivo, foi desenvolvida uma pesquisa descritiva, de abordagem qualiquantitativa, de natureza documental. O corpus de análise foi de 186 artigos de periódicos nacionais. Constatou-se que o Instituto Oswaldo Cruz teve um papel preponderante no desenvolvimento de pesquisas e expedições científicas voltadas para combater essa endemia e no desenvolvimento de uma ciência experimental

Crania, bodies, and measurements : formation of the collection of anthropometric instruments at the Museu Nacional in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century

Aborda o processo de constituição do acervo de instrumentos científicos do Setor de Antropologia Biológica (antiga Divisão de Antropologia Física) do Museu Nacional. Prioriza-se a análise da coleção de instrumentos de antropometria. Pensar o instrumental de medição antropométrica relacionando-o com as demais coleções do acervo de antropologia biológica e com a atuação dos pesquisadores do Museu Nacional, em seus respectivos contextos sociopolíticos e acadêmicos, oferece uma visão privilegiada do panorama científico na passagem do século XIX para o XX. _______________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTAnalyzes the formation of the collection of scientific instruments at the Museu Nacional’s Biological Anthropology Sector (previously known as the Physical Anthropology Division), Brazil. It focuses on the instruments used for anthropometric measurements. By drawing relations between this collection and other of the institution’s biological anthropology collections, as well as the activities of Museu Nacional researchers within their sociopolitical and academic contexts, we arrive at a privileged view of the scientific methods and theories in use in the final decades of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth