The effects of cropping intensity and cropland expansion of Brazilian soybean production on green water flows

As land use change alters how green water is appropriated, cropland expansion is instrumental in re-allocating green water towards agriculture. Alongside cropland expansion, agricultural intensification practices modify crop water use and land and water productivity. Particularly, one form of agricultural intensification known as multi-cropping (the cultivation of a piece of land sequentially more than once a year) can result in greater agricultural output per unit of land, as well as more productive use of the available water throughout the annual rainfall cycle. We assess the influence of these two processes, cropland expansion and agricultural intensification, in agricultural green water use in Brazilian agriculture. We applied the biophysical crop model Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) to estimate green water use for single and double cropping of soybean (Glycine max) and maize (Zea mays) in Brazil. The first part of our study analyses changes in soybean green water use and virtual water content nationwide between 1990 and 2013, and in a second part we look into the effect of double-cropping on water use for soybean and maize in the Brazilian states of Paraná and Mato Grosso between 2003 and 2013. The results show that cropland expansion plays a more prominent effect in green water use for production of soybean than intensification, and harvested area increase was responsible for the appropriation of an additional 95 km3 of green water in 2013 when compared to 1990, an increase of 155%. We estimate that an additional green water use of around 26 km3 related to second season maize was appropriated through increase of cropping frequency, and without expansion of cropland, in 2013 in the selected states. We discuss the importance of considering multi cropping practices when assessing green water sustainability, and the importance of differentiating green water appropriation through expansion and through cropping frequency changes

Supporting people living with dementia and faecal incontinence.

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Bridget Russell, et al, 'Supporting people living with dementia and faecal incontinence', British Journal of Community Nursing, Vol. 22 (3): 110-114, March 2017, doi: http://www.magonlinelibrary.com/doi/pdf/10.12968/bjcn.2017.22.3.110. © 2017 MA Healthcare Ltd.There are approximately 17 500 care homes in the UK which are home to about 487 000 older people, the majority are women aged 80 years or older (Care Quality Commission, 2010). As many as 80% of care home residents may have dementia, though this is not always documented, (Gordon et al, 2014). In England the majority of care homes do not have on site nursing provision and rely on community nurse specialists for support when residents require nursing advice and care. The support of people living in care homes is a well-documented problem (Taunton et al, 2005; Heckenberg, 2008; Saga, 2014) and how well they are managed is often seen as a marker of the quality of care (Care Quality Commission, 2010). Faecal incontinence can be a source of distress, discomfort, lead to complications such as skin breakdown and infection and affect an individual’s sense of dignity and self-worth. It can also be a challenging aspect of care for those who work in care homes.Non peer reviewe

Reducing and managing faecal incontinence in people with advanced dementia who are resident in care homes: protocol for a realist synthesis.

INTRODUCTION: Faecal incontinence (FI) is the involuntary loss of liquid or solid stool that is a social or hygienic problem. The prevalence of FI in residents of care homes is high, but it is not an inevitable consequence of old age or dementia. There is good evidence on risk factors, but few studies provide evidence about effective interventions. There is a need to understand how, why, and in what circumstances particular programmes to reduce and manage FI are effective (or not) for people with dementia. The purpose of this review is to identify which (elements of the) interventions could potentially be effective, and examine the barriers and facilitators to the acceptability, uptake and implementation of interventions designed to address FI in people with dementia who are resident in care homes. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A realist synthesis approach to review the evidence will be used which will include studies on continence, person-centred care, implementation research in care homes, workforce and research on care home culture. An iterative four-stage approach is planned. Phase 1: development of an initial programme theory or theories that will be 'tested' through a first scoping of the literature and consultation with five stakeholder groups (care home providers, user representatives, academics and practice educators, clinicians with a special interest in FI and continence specialists). Phase 2: a systematic search and analysis of published and unpublished evidence to test and develop the programme theories identified in phase 1. Phase 3: validation of programme theory/ies with a purposive sample of participants from phase 1. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The overall protocol does not require ethical review. The University research ethics committee will review interviews conducted as part of phase 1 and 3. The final fourth phase will synthesise and develop recommendations for practice and develop testable hypotheses for further research

Water

Water resources in the Mediterranean are scarce. They are limited, unevenly distributed and often mismatching human and environmental needs. Three quarters of the resource are located in the northern Mediterranean while three quarters of the needs are in the south and east. As a consequence, approx. 180 million people in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries suffer from water scarcity (<1,000 m3 capita-1 yr-1). The main water user is agriculture, in particular on the southern and eastern rim. The percentage of irrigated land of the total cultivated area is 25% for the Mediterranean Basin and is currently increasing, likely with higher rates under even drier climate conditions in the future. Water demand for both tourism and agriculture peak in summer, potentially enhancing tensions and conflicts in the future. Municipal water use is particularly constrained in the south and will likely be exacerbated in the future by demographic and migration phenomena. In parallel, northern countries face additional risks in flood prone areas where population and urban settlements are rapidly increasing. Climate change, in interaction with other drivers (mainly demographic and socio-economic developments), has mainly negative consequences for the water cycle in the Mediterranean Basin, including reduced runoff and groundwater recharge, increased crop water requirements, increased conflicts among users, and increased risk of overexploitation and degradation. These impacts will be much more important for global warming higher than 2°C. Strategies and policies for water management and climate change adaptation are strongly interconnected with all other sectors (e.g., the Water-Energy and Food Nexus). Technical solutions are available for improving water use efficiency and increasing reuse. Seawater desalination is increasingly used as adaptation measure to reduce (potable) water scarcity in arid and semi-arid Mediterranean countries, despite known drawbacks in terms of environmental impacts and energy requirements. Promising solar technologies are under development, potentially reducing emissions and costs. Reuse of wastewater is a solution for agriculture and industrial activities but also recharge of aquifers. Inter-basin transfers may lead to controversies and conflicts. Construction of dams contributes to combat water and energy scarcities, but with trade-offs in terms of social and environmental impacts. Overall, water demand management, which increases water use efficiency and reduces water losses, particularly in urban environments, is crucial for a sustainable development. Maintaining Mediterranean diet or coming back to it on the basis of locally produced food and reducing food wastes may save water but also carbon emissions while having nutritional benefits

Patterns of depredation in the Hawai‘i deep-set longline fishery informed by fishery and false killer whale behavior

False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) depredate bait and catch in the Hawai‘i-based deep-set longline fishery, and as a result, this species is hooked or entangled more than any other cetacean in this fishery. We analyzed data collected by fisheries observers and from satellite-linked transmitters deployed on false killer whales to identify patterns of odontocete depredation that could help fishermen avoid overlap with whales. Odontocete depredation was observed on ˜6% of deep-set hauls across the fleet from 2004 to 2018. Model outcomes from binomial GAMMs suggested coarse patterns, for example, higher rates of depredation in winter, at lower latitudes, and with higher fishing effort. However, explanatory power was low, and no covariates were identified that could be used in a predictive context. The best indicator of depredation was the occurrence of depredation on a previous set of the same vessel. We identified spatiotemporal scales of this repeat depredation to provide guidance to fishermen on how far to move or how long to wait to reduce the probability of repeated interactions. The risk of depredation decreased with both space and time from a previous occurrence, with the greatest benefits achieved by moving ˜400 km or waiting ˜9 d, which reduced the occurrence of depredation from 18% to 9% (a 50% reduction). Fishermen moved a median 46 km and waited 4.7 h following an observed depredation interaction, which our analysis suggests is unlikely to lead to large reductions in risk. Satellite-tagged pelagic false killer whales moved up to 75 km in 4 h and 335 km in 24 h, suggesting that they can likely keep pace with longline vessels for at least four hours and likely longer. We recommend fishermen avoid areas of known depredation or bycatch by moving as far and as quickly as practical, especially within a day or two of the depredation or bycatch event. We also encourage captains to communicate depredation and bycatch occurrence to enable other vessels to similarly avoid high-risk areas

Management of Fecal Incontinence in Older People With Dementia Resident in Care Homes: A Realist Synthesis-The FINCH Study.

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the Editorial to Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, Vol. 198 (9):750-751. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 21 July 2018. The published version is available online at doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2017.06.001. Crown Copyright © 2017 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.Peer reviewe

CAMPOS EN TENERIFE [Material gráfico]

Copia digital. Madrid : Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte. Subdirección General de Coordinación Bibliotecaria, 201

A research agenda for Fundy: results from the 2006 ‘Fundy Session’ at the Atlantic Geoscience Society Colloquium

Publisher's version/PDFAbstract of a presentation from the Atlantic Geoscience Society 2008 Colloquium and Annual General Meeting held at the Holiday Inn Harbourside, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, on February 1 and 2, 2008

A framework for increasing the value of predictive data-driven models by enriching problem domain characterization with novel features

The need to leverage knowledge through data mining has driven enterprises in a demand for more data. However, there is a gap between the availability of data and the application of extracted knowledge for improving decision support. In fact, more data do not necessarily imply better predictive data-driven marketing models, since it is often the case that the problem domain requires a deeper characterization. Aiming at such characterization, we propose a framework drawn on three feature selection strategies, where the goal is to unveil novel features that can effectively increase the value of data by providing a richer characterization of the problem domain. Such strategies involve encompassing context (e.g., social and economic variables), evaluating past history, and disaggregate the main problem into smaller but interesting subproblems. The framework is evaluated through an empirical analysis for a real bank telemarketing application, with the results proving the benefits of such approach, as the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve increased with each stage, improving previous model in terms of predictive performance.The work of P. Cortez was supported by FCT within the Project Scope UID/CEC/00319/2013. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio