Water and the UN sustainable development goals

Water is essential for life, but we need to balance human needs with those of the environment on which we depend for our wellbeing, our health and much of our wealth. Not all of us are lucky enough to have access to adequate water resources and services linked to water, such as readily available low-cost drinking water and sanitation systems. According to the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund (WHO/UNICEF), hundreds of millions of people are still without access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services. Their Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report, Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 2000–2020, found that although considerable progress has been made in achieving universal access to basic water services, the proportion of improved water sources that are accessible, available and free from contamination varies widely between countries. This indicates that many countries are facing a challenge to meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target for safely managed services. In addition, despite increasing the rural coverage of safely managed water services in some countries, and in other countries this coverage is similar to the urban coverage, there is a huge gap in terms of water quality. Many aquatic ecosystems (freshwater, brackish and oceanic) also are under threat with knockon consequences for humanity. Large quantities of inadequately treated or untreated wastewater are still being discharged into our surface, ground and coastal waters. The WHO reports that at least 2 billion people globally consume water from a source contaminated with faeces. Faecal contamination in the water supply system, whether rudimentary or complex, is a major cause of infectious diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A and polio. As a result, 1.2 million people die every year from water related diseases. According to the Global Water Institute, in low- and middle-income countries, almost 50% of the population can link health problems to waterborne diseases. In addition, emergent pollutants such as microplastics, antibiotics, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their degradation products found in water sources and in the environment pose a health risk to humans and animals

Commutative homotopical algebra embeds into non-commutative homotopical algebra

Over a field of characteristic zero, we show that the forgetful functor from the homotopy category of commutative dg algebras to the homotopy category of dg associative algebras is faithful. In fact, the induced map of derived mapping spaces gives an injection on all homotopy groups at any basepoint. We prove similar results both for unital and non-unital algebras, and also Koszul dually for the universal enveloping algebra functor from dg Lie algebras to dg associative algebras. An important ingredient is a natural model for these derived mapping spaces as Maurer-Cartan spaces of complete filtered dg Lie algebras (or curved Lie algebras, in the unital case).Comment: 14 page

Design da travessia do utilizador para a aplicação de software do projeto CHIC baseada em localização

Segundo o autor Cardoso, em uma narrativa interativa, o utilizador vivencia uma experiência pessoal e única, desenvolvendo a sua travessia dentro do panorama ergódico da topologia do sistema. Para os autores Cardoso e Carvalhais, a travessia pode ser entendida como a jornada do utilizador entre as tensões dinâmicas de dois tipos de narrativas: a narrativa hardcoded - fixa e pré-determinada - e a narrativa emergente - que surge da interação do utilizador/ jogador com o sistema. Este conceito é aplicado ao âmbito do projecto CHIC, realizado em colaboração entre a FEUP, a Gema Digital, a Universidade Católica Portuguesa e o Jornal de Notícias, que visa o estudo e o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta de autoria baseada em localização para fornecer experiências focadas na exploração de pontos de interesse turísticos de forma ludificada. Este estudo explora a relação entre o utilizador e o sistema, com foco nestas narrativas. Através desta relação, esta investigação visa estudar diversas aplicações dos vários tipos de travessia ao sistema digital do projeto CHIC, assim como detetar novos tipos de travessia ainda não previstos. O método de investigação é baseado no levantamento de sistemas de autoria como casos de estudo em conjunto ao desenvolvimento de um protótipo da ferramenta de autoria e testes de usabilidade com participantes a sério. Os resultados do estudo promovem o design de narrativas interativas e o entendimento de como desenhar as travessias. O estudo propõe uma solução para o design da travessia do utilizador no âmbito do projecto CHIC e fomenta soluções para narrativas focadas no turismo e património.According to the author Cardoso, in an interactive narrative, the user lives a personal and unique experience, developing their journey within the ergodic panorama of the system's topology. For the authors Cardoso and Carvalhais, traversal can be understood as the user's journey between the dynamic tensions of two types of narratives: the hardcoded narrative - fixed and pre-determined- and the emergent narrative - that emerges from the interaction of the user / player with the system. This concept is applied in the context of the CHIC project, carried out in collaboration between FEUP, Gema Digital, Universidade Católica Portuguesa and Jornal de Notícias, which aims the study and the development of a location-based authoring tool to provide experiences for the exploration of tourist points in a ludic way. This study explores the relationship between the user and the system, focusing on these narratives. Through this relationship, this investigation aims to study different applications of the various types of traversals in the digital system of the CHIC project, as well as detecting new types of traversals that have not been foreseen. The investigation method is based on the gathering of authoring systems as case studies alongside with the development of a prototype of the authoring tool and usability tests with serious participants. The study results promote the design of interactive narratives and the understanding of how to design the traversals. The study proposes a solution for the design of the user's traversal under the CHIC project and promotes solutions for narratives focused on tourism and historic heritage

The Adsorption of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs) onto Ferrihydrite Is Governed by Surface Charge

An improved quantitative and qualitative understanding of the interaction of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) and short-range ordered Fe (hydr)oxides is crucial for environmental risk assessment in environments low in natural organic matter. Here, we present data on the pH-dependent sorption behavior of 12 PFASs onto ferrihydrite. The nature of the binding mechanisms was investigated by sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy and by phosphate competition experiments. Sulfur K-edge XANES spectroscopy showed that the sulfur atom of the head group of the sulfonated PFASs retained an oxidation state of +V after adsorption. Furthermore, the XANES spectra did not indicate any involvement of inner-sphere surface complexes in the sorption process. Adsorption was inversely related to pH (p < 0.05) for all PFASs (i.e., C-3-C-5 and C-7-C-9 perfluorocarboxylates, C-4, C-6, and C-8 perfluorosulfonates, perfluorooctane sulfonamide, and 6:2 and 8:2 fluorotelomer sulfonates). This was attributed to the pH-dependent charge of the ferrihydrite surface, as reflected in the decrease of surface zeta-potential with increasing pH. The importance of surface charge for PFAS adsorption was further corroborated by the observation that the adsorption of PFASs decreased upon phosphate adsorption in a way that was consistent with the decrease in ferrihydrite zeta-potential. The results show that ferrihydrite can be an important sorbent for PFASs with six or more perfluorinated carbons in acid environments (pH <= 5), particularly when phosphate and other competitors are present in relatively low concentrations

Comparison of Virtual Nutri Plus® and Dietpro 5i® software systems for the assessment of nutrient intake before and after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

OBJECTIVES: The assessment of nutritional intake before and after bariatric surgery assists in identifying eating disorders, nutritional deficiencies and weight loss/maintenance. The 7-day record is the gold standard for such an assessment and is interpreted using specialized software. This study sought to compare the Virtual Nutri Plus® and Dietpro 5i® software systems in assessing nutrient intake in obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who underwent a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. METHODS: Nutritional intake was assessed in 10 obese women with type 2 diabetes mellitus before and 3 months after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. The 7-day record was used to assess food intake and then, the Virtual Nutri Plus® and Dietpro 5i® software systems were used to calculate calorie, macronutrient and micronutrient intake based on validated food chemical composition databases. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT01251016. RESULTS: During the preoperative period, deficits in the ingestion of total fiber and 15 out of 22 estimated micronutrients were observed when using the Virtual Nutri Plus®, compared to deficiencies in total fiber and 4 micronutrients when using the Dietpro 5i®. During the postoperative period, both the Virtual Nutri Plus® and Dietpro 5i® systems detected deficits in the ingestion of total fiber, carbohydrates and 19 micronutrients, but only the Virtual Nutri Plus® detected deficits in complex B vitamins (except B12) and minerals. CONCLUSION: Virtual Nutri Plus® was more sensitive than Dietpro 5i® for the identification of deficits in nutrient intake in obese, type 2 diabetes mellitus patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

Doenças inflamatórias intestinais: princípios da terapia nutricional

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease- are chronic gastrointestinal inflammatory diseases of unknown etiology. Decreased oral intake, malabsorption, accelerated nutrient losses, increased requirements, and drug-nutrient interactions cause nutritional and functional deficiencies that require proper correction by nutritional therapy. The goals of the different forms of nutritional therapy are to correct nutritional disturbances and to modulate inflammatory response, thus influencing disease activity. Total parenteral nutrition has been used to correct and to prevent nutritional disturbances and to promote bowel rest during active disease, mainly in cases of digestive fistulae with high output. Its use should be reserved for patients who cannot tolerate enteral nutrition. Enteral nutrition is effective in inducing clinical remission in adults and promoting growth in children. Due to its low complication rate and lower costs, enteral nutrition should be preferred over total parenteral nutrition whenever possible. Both present equal effectiveness in primary therapy for remission of active Crohn's disease. Nutritional intervention may improve outcome in certain individuals; however, because of the costs and complications of such therapy, careful selection is warranted, especially in patients presumed to need total parenteral nutrition. Recent research has focused on the use of nutrients as primary treatment agents. Immunonutrition is an important therapeutic alternative in the management of inflammatory bowel diseases, modulating the inflammation and changing the eicosanoid synthesis profile. However, beneficial reported effects have yet to be translated into the clinical practice. The real efficacy of these and other nutrients (glutamine, short-chain fatty acids, antioxidants) still need further evaluation through prospective and randomized trials.As doenças inflamatórias intestinais - retocolite ulcerativa inespecífica e doença de Crohn - são afecções inflamatórias gastrointestinais crônicas de causa ainda desconhecida. Caracterizam-se por diarréia crônica, malabsorção, síndrome do intestino curto, disfunção da barreira mucosa e processo inflamatório intestinal, fatores que determinam deficiências nutricionais e funcionais que ressaltam a importância da terapia nutricional em seu tratamento. As diversas formas de terapia nutricional visam corrigir os distúrbios nutricionais e modular à resposta inflamatória, podendo, desta forma, influir na atividade da doença. A nutrição parenteral total tem sido usada para corrigir os distúrbios nutricionais e proporcionar repouso intestinal na doença ativa. Seu uso deve ser reservado a pacientes que não podem tolerar a nutrição enteral. A nutrição enteral é efetiva em induzir remissão clínica da doença em adultos e promover crescimento em crianças. Devido à baixa incidência de complicações e menor custo, a nutrição enteral deve ser opção preferencial à nutrição parenteral total quando possível. Ambas apresentam igual efetividade na terapia primária na remissão da Doença de Crohn ativa. Embora a terapia nutricional possa melhorar a evolução de muitos pacientes, é necessária uma seleção criteriosa devido a seus custos e complicações, especialmente naqueles que requerem nutrição parenteral total. Recentes pesquisas têm se dedicado ao uso de nutrientes como agentes terapêuticos primários. A imunonutrição com ácidos graxos ômega-3 se constitui numa importante alternativa terapêutica no manuseio das doenças inflamatórias intestinais, modulando o processo inflamatório e modificando o perfil de produção de eicosanóides. Entretanto, a real eficácia deste e outros nutrientes (glutamina, ácidos graxos de cadeia curta) ainda necessitam de novas avaliações por estudos prospectivos, controlados e randomizados

Effect of pH, surface charge and soil properties on the solid-solution partitioning of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in a wide range of temperate soils

The pH-dependent soil-water partitioning of six perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) of environmental concern (PFOA, PFDA, PFUnDA, PFHxS, PFOS and FOSA), was investigated for 11 temperate mineral soils and related to soil properties such as organic carbon content (0.2-3%), concentrations of Fe and Al (hydr)oxides, and texture. PFAS sorption was positively related to the perfluorocarbon chain length of the molecule, and inversely related to solution pH for all substances. The negative slope between log Kd and pH became steeper with increasing perfluorocarbon chain length of the PFAS (r2 = 0.75, p <= 0.05). Organic carbon (OC) alone was a poor predictor of the partitioning for all PFASs, except for FOSA (r2 = 0.71), and the OC-normalized PFAS partitioning, as derived from organic soil materials, underestimated PFAS sorption to the soils. Multiple linear regression suggested sorption contributions (p <= 0.05) from OC for perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and FOSA, and Fe/Al (hydr) oxides for PFOS, FOSA, and perfluorodecanoate (PFDA). FOSA was the only substance under study for which there was a statistically significant correlation between its binding and soil texture (silt + clay). To predict PFAS sorption, the surface net charge of the soil organic matter fraction of all soils was calculated using the Stockholm Humic Model. When calibrated against charge-dependent PFAS sorption to a peat (Oe) material, the derived model significantly underestimated the measured Kd values for 10 out of 11 soils. To conclude, additiona

Binding of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) by organic soil materials with different structural composition - Charge- and concentration-dependent sorption behavior

The charge-and concentration-dependent sorption behavior of a range of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) was studied for three organic soil samples with different organic matter quality, one Spodosol Oe horizon (Mor Oe) and two Sphagnum peats with different degrees of decomposition (Peat Oi and Peat Oe). Sorption to the two peat materials was, on average, four times stronger compared to that onto the Mor Oe material. In particular, longer-chained PFASs were more strongly bound by the two peats as compared to the Mor Oe sample. The combined results of batch sorption experiments and 13C NMR spectroscopy suggested sorption to be positively related to the content of carbohydrates (i.e., O-alkyl carbon). Sorption of all PFAS subclasses was inversely related to the pH value in all soils, with the largest pH effects being observed for perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) with C-10 and C-11 perfluorocarbon chain lengths. Experimentally determined sorption isotherms onto the poorly humified Peat Oi did not deviate significantly from linearity for most substances, while for the Mor Oe horizon, sorption nonlinearity was generally more pronounced. This work should prove useful in assessing PFAS sorption and leaching in organic soil horizons within environmental risk assessment

Appetite Assessment of Hospitalized Cancer Patients in Brazil – A Validation Study

OBJECTIVES: Appetite loss, a common symptom in cancer patients, contributes to worsened nutritional status. A validated specific tool to assess appetite is clinically useful for diagnosing and identifying symptoms and signs that could be reversed with nutritional and pharmacological therapies. The aim of this study is to produce a Brazilian Portuguese version of the Hill and Blundell visual analog scale (VAS) for appetite and investigate its validity among hospitalized cancer patients. METHODS: The original English VAS version was translated into Brazilian Portuguese in full accordance with the guidelines in the literature and adapted to the Brazilian context by conducting interviews and meetings with an expert committee until the final version was reached. Afterwards, the version was validated in hospitalized cancer patients in a cross-sectional study at Sa˜o Paulo Cancer Institute (ICESP), where the relationships between breakfast intake (rest-ingestion index) and VAS were compared. The Spearman test was used to verify the correlation between the rest-ingestion index and the VAS ratings. RESULTS: Sixty-four patients with a mean age of 56.1 (±12.3) years answered the Portuguese VAS version, and their breakfast intake was evaluated. The mean rest-ingestion index was 18.8%. The correlations between the rest-ingestion index (food acceptance) and three questions of the Portuguese visual analog scale version were inverse and significant: first question (r -0.3028 p=0.0046), second question (r -0.2317 p=0.0319) and third question (r -0.3049 p=0.0043). CONCLUSION: The ‘‘Appetite Assessment Scale of Brazilian Oncology Patients’’ is a valid instrument to assess appetite in hospitalized cancer patients in Brazil

Avaliação imunohistoquímica do perfil citocínico da mucosa colônica em colite experimental induzida por ácido acético

Experimental colitis induced by acetic acid has been used extensively as a model for intestinal inflammatory disease. Colonic tissue lesions of intestinal inflammatory disease patients seem to be related to the increased local production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alpha, and IFN-gamma). PURPOSE: To assess the cytokine expression pattern identified through immunohistochemistry in colonic mucosa after experimental colitis induced by acetic acid and establish the relationship between this pattern and the presence of macroscopic lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult male Wistar rats (n = 39) were divided at random into 4 groups: NC45 and NC24 (control without colitis; sacrificed at 45 minutes and 24 hours, respectively); and WC45 and WC24 (with experimental colitis induced by acetic acid; sacrificed at 45 minutes and 24 hours, respectively). Macroscopic and microscopic alterations in colonic tissue were evaluated, and cytokine expression was assessed through immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: After 24 hours, IL-1 expression was greater in the groups with colitis when compared to the groups without colitis. IL-4 expression was higher in the WC45 group. There was an increase in both INF-gamma and IL-6 related to the presence of necrosis of the colonic mucosa in the groups with colitis for both periods evaluated. CONCLUSION: The immunohistochemical technique was efficient for the analysis of various cytokine expressions in the colonic tissue. There was an increase in the IL-1 pro-inflammatory cytokines as well as in IL-6 and IFN-gamma associated with the presence of colonic necrosis. Experimental colitis induced by acetic acid is a useful model for the development of studies assessing the role of cytokines in the inflammation of mucosa as well as anti-cytokine therapies.O modelo de colite experimental induzida por ácido acético (CEAA) vem sendo extensamente utilizado em estudos sobre doenças inflamatórias intestinais (DII). Lesões no tecido colônico em portadores de DII parecem estar relacionados à produção local aumentada de citocinas pró-inflamatórias (IL-1, IL-6, TNF-alfa e IFN-gama). OBJETIVO: Avaliar o padrão de expressão de citocinas identificadas por imunohistoquímica em tecido colônico após CEAA e relacioná-lo à presença de lesões macroscópicas. MATERIAL E MÉTODOS: Ratos machos Wistar adultos (n=39) foram submetidos ou não à CEAA e sacrificados para retirada do tecido colônico em dois períodos distintos, perfazendo 4 grupos aleatórios: SC45 e SC24 (sem colite; sacrifício 45 minutos e 24 horas, respectivamente); CC45 e CC24 (com colite; sacrifício 45 minutos e 24 horas, respectivamente). Avaliaram-se alterações macro e microscópicas do cólon e sua expressão de citocinas foi avaliada por imunohistoquímica. RESULTADOS: Após 24 horas, a expressão de IL-1 foi maior no grupo com colite, em relação ao sem colite. IL-4 foi mais expressa no grupo CC45. Houve aumento de INF-gama e IL-6, relacionados à presença de necrose da mucosa colônica, nos grupos com colite, em ambos os períodos avaliados. CONCLUSÃO: A técnica de imunohistoquímica foi eficiente para a análise da expressão de citocinas na mucosa colônica. Houve aumento da expressão das citocinas pró-inflamatórias IL-1 e de IL-6 e IFN-gama associado à presença de necrose colônica. A CEAA é um bom modelo para o desenvolvimento de estudos destinados a avaliar o papel das citocinas na inflamação da mucosa e terapias anti-citocinas