Fire regime as a driver of resilience, functional diversity and ecosystem services in Mediterranean mountains

Mountain areas in Portugal are usually defined as territories with rough morphology, low demographic densities, and peculiar agrarian systems based on cattle raising and husbandry. The use of fire has been a common management practice in traditional land use, mainly to control vegetation encroachment and to promote pasturelands. Therefore, historically fire has been a strong driver of vegetation patterns, soil properties and ecosystem services throughout Iberian mountains. Recently, however, a generalized tendency for abandonment of agriculture and pastoralism is promoting vegetation recovery and changes in fire regimes, driving a shift from small fires in recurrently burnt areas to energetic and largely unpredictable wildfires. We present results from studies of ecosystem resilience and vegetation dynamics driven by fire regimes, discussing their connection to the provision of ecosystem services. We report strong effects of fire recurrence, distance to the latest wildfire, and geology on scrubland resilience, with potential implications for regulating services. We also evaluated the resistance and resilience of young deciduous forests to fire disturbance and its implications for supporting services. Overall, our results support the idea that fire regime is a major driver of functional diversity in Mediterranean mountains and suggest that land abandonment and related shifts in fire regimes promote unpredictability in the spatiotemporal patterns of several ecosystem services. Finally, we discuss response options for managing changing mountain landscapes

The interpretation of the figure of the prophet Jonah by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the sistine chapel : anatomical urological vision

A detailed analysis in the iconography and pictorial appearance of the scene of the "Prophet Jonah" painted by the artist Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel between the years 1508 and 1512. Literature review on the Italian Renaissance period and the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti and analysis of historical aspects of the evolution of studies of human anatomy in this period and the works of the artist. A comparative analysis of the representation of the figure of the fish on the left thigh of "Jonah" with a cross section of penis shows a curious similarity. The pictorial and iconographic analysis reveals an intensity of light on the pubic area and the position of the prophet with the legs spread apart and left hand placed on this region. A tube-shaped cloth covers the region and the angel at the side seems to be looking at this anatomical region of "Jonah". In fact, sets of iconographic and pictorial relate to the deciphered code. This description helps to confirm the relationship of the Renaissance art with the human anatomy; science has been much studied in this period. The design of a cross section of the penis is revealed with the two cavernous bodies with the septum between them and the spongy body. Considering the circumstances in which Michelangelo had painted, subjectivity was fundamental due to religious motivations added to the vigorous implications of a limited scientific knowledge typical of that era38

Urban landscape and infection risk in free-roaming cats

Altres ajuts: Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) CEECIND/01428/2018. FEDER UID/AMB/50017/2019Despite public concern on the role of free-roaming cats as reservoirs of zoonotic agents, little is known about the influence of urban and peri-urban landscapes on the exposure risk. We evaluated the seroprevalence of three zoonotic agents (Chlamydia felis, Coxiella burnetii and Toxoplasma gondii) in domestic cats (Felis catus). Two hundred and ninety-one free-roaming cats were trapped in Murcia municipality (Southeast Spain), and their sera were tested for specific antibodies against T. gondii using a modified agglutination test (MAT), and for C. felis, C. burnetii and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibodies with ELISA technique. Pathogen seroprevalence at 95% CI was calculated for each sex and age category (up to and over 12 months) and compared with a chi-squared test. The role of human population density and urban landscape characteristics on the risk of pathogen exposure in the cat population was explored using generalized linear models. Seropositivity against a single pathogen was found in 60% of the cats, while 19% was seropositive for two or three pathogens. Seroprevalence of C. felis was 8% (CI: 5-11), 37% (CI: 31-42) for C. burnetii and 42% (CI: 36-47) for T. gondii. In addition to these three pathogens, FIV seropositivity was low (1%, CI: −0.1 to 2) and adult cats were more likely to be seropositive to C. burnetii than young individuals (OR: 2.3, CI: 1.2-4.2). No sex or age class differences in seroprevalence were observed for the rest of the pathogens. Seropositivity was correlated with water surface areas for C. felis, and not with crop areas. Coxiella burnetii seropositivity was correlated with the percentage of urban areas (continuous with only buildings and discontinuous, that include buildings, parks, and pedestrian and urban green areas), human population size and peri-urban areas with shrubs, and not correlated with other agricultural landscapes (orchards and crop areas). However, the seroprevalence of T. gondii was only associated with agricultural landscapes such as orchards. The detection of hotspot areas of high pathogen exposure risk is the basis for municipal services to implement surveillance and risk factor control campaigns in specific-risk areas, including (a) efficient health management of urban cat colonies by geographical location, population census and health status monitoring of the components of each cat colony, (b) improvement of hygiene and sanitary conditions at the feeding points of the cat colony and (c) free-roaming cat trapping for health monitoring and, in the long term, to know the evolution of the health status of their populations

The impact of manual patient handling on work ability: A cross-sectional study in a Brazilian hospital

Aim: To investigate the level of self-reported work ability and its association with manual patient handling in healthcare workers. Design: Cross-sectional study adhering to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Methods: A total of 320 healthcare workers answered a self-administered questionnaire regarding manual patient handling, work ability, occupational factors, occurrence of low back pain and sociodemographic and lifestyle factors from November 2016 to March 2017. The association between manual patient handling and low back pain was analysed with Poisson regression models. Results: The prevalence ratio of inadequate work ability was 43.42%. Manual patient handling (PR 1.375, 95% CI 1.038–1.821), bachelor education (PR 2.150, 95% CI 1.272–3.632), less than bachelor education (PR 2.166, 95% CI 1.218–3.855), seniority (PR 1.049, 95% CI 1.024–1.086), poor sleep quality (PR 1.425, 95% CI 1.13–1.796) and presence of low back pain (PR 2.003, 95% CI 1.314–3.052) were all positively associated with an inadequate work ability.Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Huelva/CBU

Is Metabolic syndrome truly a risk factor for male lower urinary tract symptoms or just an epiphenomenon?

To define whether the association of male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and metabolic syndrome (MS) is real or simply an epiphenomenon, 490 male adults (mean age 58 ± 9 years) underwent International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), physical and prostate digital examinations, blood analysis, and urinary tract transabdominal ultrasound with prostate volume measurement. Mild, moderate, and severe LUTS were found in 350 (71.4%), 116 (23.7%), and 24 (4.9%) patients, respectively. MS was present in 198 (40.4%) patients, representing 37.4% (131 of 350) of those with mild LUTS, 46.5% (54 of 116) of those with moderate, and 54.1% (13 of 24) of those with severe. The odds ratio of MS having moderate or severe LUTS was 2.1. MS was more common in older age, higher body mass index, and larger prostate size. Moderate and severe LUTS were more frequent in older age, lower levels of high density cholesterol, and higher blood pressure. Older age and body mass index had significant relative risk for lower urinary tract symptoms and only age remained independent factor for LUTS on multivariate analysis. Our results suggest that the association of male LUTS, prostate volume, and MS might be coincidental and related to older age2014sem informaçã

Communication, information, and knowledge in the pandemic by COVID-19 in Brazil

As coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is asserting itself as a health crisis, it is necessary to assess the knowledge and perceptions of people about the disease. The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge of the general population about COVID-19 and how the media influence this knowledge. This is a cross-sectional study with 5066 participants who answered an online questionnaire between April and May 2020. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. Over 75% have obtained a high degree of knowledge regarding signs, symptoms, and transmission, 95% stated to check the veracity of the information received, and also showed that the total knowledge about COVID-19 was associated with the level of instruction, with the perception of the quality of information disseminated by the media, and with the risk perception. Despite the high level of knowledge of participants, the results pointed to the need to reinforce information for individuals with less education and the importance of avoiding denialism that reduces the risk perception about COVID-19

A fitossociologia e a monitorização da biodiversidade às escalas regional, nacional e europeia

As alterações ambientais multi-escalares produzem modificações mais ou menos profundas nos padrões espacio-temporais de distribuição e abundância das espécies e na composição, atributos, funções e distribuição das biocenoses e dos ecossistemas. São particularmente sensíveis, nos nossos dias, as mudanças induzidas pelas alterações do clima à escala global, e pelas invasões biológicas e alterações nos padrões locais e regionais de ocupação e uso do solo. Num contexto de crescente aproximação entre as políticas sectoriais de conservação da natureza, de ordenamento do território e de desenvolvimento rural, as ferramentas de informação sobre o património natural e os promotores das suas dinâmicas revelam-se fundamentais para o correcto planeamento do território e para uma gestão ecologicamente sustentável da paisagem. O território Português possui uma excepcional diversidade de ecossistemas, que albergam uma notável quantidade de espécies de flora e fauna

The Impact of Low Back Pain on the Quality of Life of Children between 6 and 12 Years of Age

This study aimed to evaluate the impact of low back pain on the perceived health-related quality of life of children between 6 and 12 years of age. This is a cross-sectional study of three hundred seventy-seven students from three schools (two private and one public) located in the city of Botucatu, São Paulo. Data were collected using the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL, version 4.0), a questionnaire comprising questions on personal background, sociodemographic and socioeconomic information, and a questionnaire about quality of life. Comparisons were made between groups with and without low back pain. The chi-squared test was used for analyzing categorical variables, and the non-parametric Mann-Whitney test was used for continuous variables. According to the findings obtained in this study, it was observed that low back pain in the last month was reported by 27.3% of the total participants. The perceived health-related quality of life was lower among individuals who had low back pain, and the scores of physical and emotional functioning domains were also lower in the presence of low back pain. The prevalence of low back pain among children and adolescents is relatively high. Furthermore, the repercussions of low back pain may lead to a lower overall perception of the health-related quality of life in this population and affect aspects of physical and emotional functioning.This research was funded by Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES), grant number 88882.441619/2019-01

Combined pretreatment by ultrasound and struvite precipitation of raw substrates: a strategy to overcome C/N ratio unbalance in nitrogen-rich anaerobic co-digestion systems

The present study aimed to optimize the struvite chemical precipitation process in nitrogenrich anaerobic co-digestion systems. Struvite precipitation experiments were carried out using a mixture of cattle slurry liquid fraction and sewage sludge, with and without ultrasound pretreatment. Marine salt or MgCl2 were used as magnesium source in NH4 + :Mg2+ stoichiometric proportions of 1:1.5 and 1:3. Under the tested conditions, ammonium nitrogen and orthophosphate were removed from the mixed liquor with a maximum observed efficiency of 43% and 92%, respectively, when the ultrasound treatment was applied prior to struvite precipitation, using MgCl2 as source of magnesium (NH4 + :Mg2+ of 1:3). The operating time was 40 min. Different pretreatments were tested prior to the biomethanization experiments, struvite precipitation, ultrasound, or a combination of both pretreatments. The application of ultrasound (with an energy input of 218 kJ L−1 ) and struvite precipitation (NH4 + :Mg2+ of 1:3) increased the methane content in the biogas by 82% and reduced hydraulic retention time by 28%, when compared to the anaerobic co-digestion assays without pretreatment. The hydrolytic pretreatment increased the bioavailability of nitrogen by 5%, thus enhancing the removal efficiency of ammonium nitrogen by 20%. Consequently, an increase in the carbon to nitrogen ratio was observed, favoring the methanogenesis process.6B1D-516F-1A2A | Luís Miguel Cortez Mesquita de BritoN/