Importance of stream temperature to climate change impact on water quality

International audienceThe sensitivity of water quality to climate change was assessed in the Seine River (France) with the biogeochemical model RIVERSTRAHLER, which describes the transformations and fluxes of C, N, P and Si between the main microbiological populations, the water column and the sediment, along the entire river network. Point and diffuse sources are prescribed, stream temperature undergoes a sinusoidal annual cycle constrained by observations, and runoff is calculated by a physically-based land surface model. The reference simulation, using meteorological forcing of 1986-1990 and point sources of 1991, compares very well with observations. The climate change simulated by a general circulation model under the SRES emission scenario A2 was used to simulate the related changes in runoff and stream temperature. To this end, a statistical analysis was undertaken of the relationships between the water and air temperatures in the Seine watershed over 1993-1999, using 88 points that correctly sampled the variability of the tributaries. Most of stream temperature variance was explained by the lagged moving average of air temperature, with parameters that depended on Strahler stream order. As an interesting simplification, stream temperature changes could be approximated by air temperature changes. This modelling framework was used to analyse of the relative influence of the water warming and discharge reduction induced by climate change on water quality in Paris and downstream. Discharge reduction increased phytoplankton growth and oxygen deficits. Water warming decreased dissolved oxygen, increased phytoplankton biomass during the growth period, and reduced it afterwards, when loss factors dominate. It was also shown that these impacts were enhanced when point source inputs of nutrient and organic matter increased

Intervenção na parentalidade: o caso específico da formação de pais

[Resumo] Apesar de a discussao das questoes relativas aeducação das crianças no contexto familiar ter provavelmente uma história tao longa quanto a própria história da família, a intervenção estruturada e intencionalizada na parentalidade é algo de relativamente recente. Ao longo deste artigo pretendemos mostrar que a intervenção na parentalidade faz uso de uma grande variedade de procedimentos e dirige- se a um amplo leque de popula<;oes. Apesar de nem sempre os autores mostrarem grande preocupação em delimitar o ambito da intervenção na parentalidade, apresenta-se aqui um modelo piramidal com quatro níveis, entre os quais se situa aquilo que mais frequentemente se denomina de Formação ou Educação de Pais. Analisam-se finalmente com maior profundidade as especificidades dos programas de Formação de Pais, discutindo-se aspectos relativos aavaliação da sua eficácia[Abstract] Although the history of child rearing is probably as old as the history of human families, structured and intentionally planned parenting intervention programs are much more recent. Throughout this article the authors intend to show that parenting intervention programs use a great variety ofprocedures and are directed to many different target-populations. In order to clarify the different dimensions included in parenting interventions, a four-level pyramidal model is proposed, in which is included what is frequently known as parent education. The specificities ofparental education programs are analysed and questions related to the evaluation of their efficacy are discussed

Total hip arthroplasty offset measurement: Is C T scan the most accurate option?

SummaryBackgroundFemoral offset is difficult to precisely evaluate with conventional X-ray techniques. Femoral offset characterizes the balance between body weight and the resistance provided by the abductor muscles. Total hip arthroplasties should respect this balance.HypothesisComputed tomodensitometry (CT-scan) is more accurate than conventional X-ray to evaluate femoral offset.Materials and methodsSixty-one patients who received unilateral total hip arthroplasties were prospectively included in the study. Femoral offset was measured by three-dimensional CT-scan reconstruction using the “Hip Plan” (Symbios™) software. Offset was also determined with conventional X-ray and results were compared. This software can be used to measure leg length by frontal telemetry. It was developed for preoperative-planning of cementless femoral stem implants with modular necks of various lengths and angles. All pre- and postoperative measurements were made according to the same protocol.ResultsFemoral offset values in this study were very similar to anatomical values found in the literature. They were significantly higher than values obtained by conventional X-ray by an average of 8%. Implantation of hip replacements resulted in a significant increase in offset (1.88±4.71mm) with a slight variation in leg length. Pre- and postoperative leg length increased slightly in the operated leg by an average of 1.66±5.63mm. Seventeen percent of these femurs had high offset associated with small or average sized proximal medullary canals. This preoperative planning software made it possible to identify these difficulties and to adapt implant components using modular long 8° varus necks to restore high offset. In most of these cases, only small femoral stems could be implanted because of the small size of the intramedullary femoral canal. These individual differences were identified with 3D CT-scan reconstruction and included in the preoperative planning. Moreover, leg length could also be evaluated with this method and included in the preplanning.DiscussionCompared to conventional X-ray, measurements obtained with this preoperative planning method using 3D CT-scan reconstruction are easy to obtain and not dependent upon test conditions because the frame is placed on the femoral axis. Measurements are not influenced by position inconsistencies or if the hip is fixed in external rotation. The significant number of cases with above average offset confirms the importance of obtaining these measurements and the necessity of adapting the strategy in these cases by using lateralized stems, or, as in our series, modular necks to adjust femoral offset and neck angle.Level of evidenceLevel III diagnostic prospective study

La Loire à l'épreuve du changement climatique

Les changements climatiques annoncés vont-ils induire une modification du cycle de l'eau et des débits dans un bassin comme la Loire, géologiquement contrasté et soumis à des climats variés (océanique, continental, cévenol) ? Nos résultats suggèrent une diminution des ressources en eau disponibles en moyennes eaux et en étiage. En revanche la dynamique et l'intensité des crues ne devraient pas varier significativement

Acolhimento residencial em Portugal

In Portugal there are 8000 children and young people in Residential Care (RC). The concept of RC quality emerges as the adequacy of the characteristics of the centres to the needs of children. Being a complex and multidimensional construct requires different perspectives and an evaluation by various sources, assuming the voice of children as the main reference in measuring the quality. The quality of the RC is closely related to psychological adjustment, well-being and satisfaction with life of children and adolescents. Until now it has not been performed in Portugal an assessment of the quality of the RC system. At this time there is an ongoing study that aims to assess the quality of Portuguese RC system through needs assessment and psychological adjustment of children in RC, the evaluation of the quality of services provided by centres and understanding of the relationship between these two variables. This symposium aims to present some emerging results of the pilot study of national character research, still in progress, which aims to assess the quality of the RC Portuguese system. In this sense, a brief contextualization of the RC will be in Portugal, followed by the presentation of the main methodology that is used for this assessment – A Comprehensive Evaluation System for Residential Care in Portugal (ARQUA-P). Subsequently, it will be presented the data related to the psychological adjustment of adolescents that are in RC, their self-esteem, well-being and happiness subjective, relating these variables with the quality of the RC.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Parenting scales : contributions to the factorial validity of the Portuguese version

The purpose of this study is to confirm the structural validity of the Questioná- rio de Estilos Educativos Parentais (QEEP) in a sample of Portuguese adolescents. This instrument is an adaptation of the Parenting Scales to the Portuguese population and intends to evaluate adolescents’ perceptions of the rearing style of their parents. It is composed of 19 items related with two dimensions: Acceptance (Responsiveness) and Monitoring (Supervision). The sample has comprised 210 boys and 213 girls aged from 12 to 15 years. A two-dimensional model has emerged from confirmatory factorial analysis – Acceptance, similar to the original subscale, and Knowledge, composed by some items from the Monitoring dimension. Internal consistency coefficients are acceptable for research purposes.Este estudo tem como objectivo confirmar a estrutura factorial do Questionário de Estilos Educativos Parentais (QEEP) numa amostra de adolescentes portugueses. Este instrumento constitui a versão adaptada à população portuguesa das Parenting Scales e pretende avaliar a percepção que os adolescentes têm dos estilos educativos dos pais. É composto por 19 itens que remetem para duas dimensões: Aceitação (subescala Responsividade) e Monitorização (subescala Supervisão). Participaram no estudo 210 rapazes e 213 raparigas com idades compreendidas entre os 12 e os 15 anos. Da análise factorial confirmatória emergiu um modelo com duas dimensões – Aceitação, semelhante à subescala original, e Conhecimento, composta por parte dos itens da dimensão Monitorização. Os valores de consistência interna são considerados aceitáveis para fins de investigação

From daily climatic scenarios to hourly atmospheric forcing fields to force Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere transfer models

International audienceThis paper presents a method to produce long term climatic forcing fields to force Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere transfer (SVAT) models in off-line mode. The objective is to increase the temporal frequency of existent climate projections databases from daily frequency to hourly time step to be used in impact climate studies. A statistical clustering k-means method is used. A tens of clusters seems to be enough to describe the climate variability in term of wind regimes, precipitation and thermal and humidity amplitude. These clusters are identified in the future projections of climate and reconstructed sequences at hourly frequency are obtained for all the forcing variables needed by a SVAT model, typically: air temperature, specific humidity, wind speed and direction, precipitation, direct short-wave radiation, downward long-wave radiation, and scattered short-wave radiation. Eleven years of observations from two sites in France are used to illustrate the method: the Chartres station (Paris) and Blagnac station (Toulouse). The reconstruction algorithm is able to produce diurnal cycles that fits well with hourly series from observations (1998–2008; 1961–1990) and from climatic scenarios (1961–2100). The diurnal amplitude and mean value is well represented for variables with marked daily cycle as temperature or humidity. Changes in the mean wind direction are represented and, to a certain extent, changes in wind intensity are also retained. The mean precipitation is conserved during the day even if the method is not able to reproduce the short rain picks variability. Precipitation is used as input in the clusterization process so in clusters representative of rainy days some diurnal variability is nevertheless retained