Upper and lower treeline biogeographic patterns in semi-arid pinyon-juniper woodlands

none7siAim: Upper and lower treelines are particularly exposed to a changing climate. It has been hypothesized that upper treelines are constrained by growing season temperature, whereas lower tree lines are water limited. We expect different causal mechanisms of upper versus lower tree line formation to generate distinct patterns of spatial heterogeneity. Here, we compare dynamics, spatial patterns and shape complexity of upper and lower tree lines of semi‐arid pinyon‐juniper woodlands. Location: Toiyabe Range of the Nevada Great Basin (western US). Taxon: Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frém. and Juniperus osteosperma (Torr.). Methods: Within 20 sample plots (10 along the upper and 10 along the lower tree line), we mapped tree canopies through photointerpretation of high‐resolution imagery. We performed point pattern analyses to compare the spatial arrangement of trees and used LANDSAT 30‐year time series and NDVI to understand the vegetation dynamics of these ecotones. We adopted the surface roughness method to measure tree line shape complexity. Results: Lower tree lines were denser and showed a stronger trend of increasing NDVI change over the 1984–2015 period. Trees at the lower tree line were more strongly aggregated than at the upper tree line at spatial scales ranging from 15 to 65 meters. Shape complexity was higher at upper tree lines, expressed by a higher mean surface roughness; however, the spatial structures of upper and lower tree lines were similar. Main conclusions: Upper tree line expansion of pinyon‐juniper woodlands in the study area has been limited and highly variable, but lower tree line downslope expansion into adjacent shrub steppe vegetation was evident. The expected difference between energy‐ and water‐limited tree lines did not manifest in the observed spatial structures. Differences in tree line shape complexity were not significant, although lower tree lines exhibited less complex shapes, likely because they have been more strongly influenced by anthropogenic factors.The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available in the Figshare repository, https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.11836284mixedGarbarino, Matteo; Malandra, Francesco; Dilts, Thomas; Flake, Sam; Montalto, Luigi; Spinsante, Susanna; Weisberg, Peter J.Garbarino, Matteo; Malandra, Francesco; Dilts, Thomas; Flake, Sam; Montalto, Luigi; Spinsante, Susanna; Weisberg, Peter J

The COVID-related mental health load of neonatal healthcare professionals: a multicenter study in Italy

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected healthcare professionals’ lives. We investigated the potential mental health risk faced by healthcare professionals working in neonatal units in a multicentre cross-sectional observational study. Methods: We included all healthcare personnel of seven level-3 and six level-2 neonatal units in Tuscany, Italy. We measured the level of physical exposure to COVID-19 risk, self-reported pandemic-related stress, and mental health load outcomes (anxiety, depression, burnout, psychosomatic symptoms, and post-traumatic symptoms) using validated, self-administered, online questionnaires during the second pandemic wave in Italy (October 2020 to March 2021). Results: We analyzed 314 complete answers. Scores above the clinical cutoff were reported by 91% of participants for symptoms of anxiety, 29% for post-traumatic symptoms, 13% for burnout, and 3% for symptoms of depression. Moreover, 50% of the participants reported at least one psychosomatic symptom. Pandemic-related stress was significantly associated with all the measured mental health load outcomes, with an Odds Ratio of 3.31 (95% confidence interval: 1.87, 5.88) for clinically relevant anxiety, 2.46 (1.73, 3.49) for post-traumatic symptoms, 1.80 (1.17, 2.79) for emotional exhaustion, and 2.75 (1.05, 7.19) for depression. Female health care professionals displayed a greater risk of anxiety, and male health care professionals and nurses, of depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Despite the low direct clinical impact of COVID-19 in newborns, neonatal professionals, due to both living in a situation of uncertainty and personal exposure to contacts with parents and other relatives of the newborns, and having to carry out activities once routine and now fraught with uncertainty, displayed clear signs of mental health load outcomes. They must be considered a specific population at risk for psychological consequences during the pandemic

Toxicity of wine effluents and assessment of a depuration system for their control: assay with tadpoles of Rhinella arenarum (BUFONIDAE)

We evaluated the toxicity of the winery effluent and the efficiency of a symbiotic depuration system by means an experiment with Rhinella arenarum tadpoles. The studied effluent was taken from warehouses during the cleaning season. These effluents subsequently subjected to the purification treatment under evaluation. The effluent samples differentiated into two treatment levels: “raw” where the effluent was evaluated with field conditions and “treated” where the effluent was previously filtered with the symbiotic depuration system. The results of the bioassays compared with the physicochemical parameters determined in the effluent samples. The lethal response had a clear-cut correspondence with the effluent quality assessed utilizing physicochemical parameters. In all cases, dilution of the samples resulted in a significant reduction of their toxicity. It concluded that (a) winery effluents could be harmful to tadpoles of R. arenarum, (b) the symbiotic purification system used to treat wine effluents it would produce a significant reduction in the contaminant levels of the effluent. However, this reduction in contaminant levels does not provide sufficient safety for the release of the effluents into the environment.Fil: Navas Romero, Ana Laura. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Herrera Moratta, Mario Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Investigaciones de las Zonas Áridas; ArgentinaFil: Rodríguez, María Rosa. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería; ArgentinaFil: Quiroga, Lorena Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Filosofía, Humanidades y Artes. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Echegaray, Marcelo Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; ArgentinaFil: Sanabria, Eduardo Alfredo. Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Facultad de Filosofía, Humanidades y Artes. Instituto de Ciencias Básicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Juan; Argentin

Rotating biological contactors : a review on main factors affecting performance

Rotating biological contactors (RBCs) constitute a very unique and superior alternative for biodegradable matter and nitrogen removal on account of their feasibility, simplicity of design and operation, short start-up, low land area requirement, low energy consumption, low operating and maintenance cost and treatment efficiency. The present review of RBCs focus on parameters that affect performance like rotational speed, organic and hydraulic loading rates, retention time, biofilm support media, staging, temperature, influent wastewater characteristics, biofilm characteristics, dissolved oxygen levels, effluent and solids recirculation, stepfeeding and medium submergence. Some RBCs scale-up and design considerations, operational problems and comparison with other wastewater treatment systems are also reported.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Co-inoculation of MLF cultures.

Please help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected] Vir Wynbiotegnologi

Microbiology of a biological contractor for winery wastewater treatment

NatuurwetenskappeMikrobiologiePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: [email protected]

Dynamics of a microbial biofilm in a rotating biological contactor for the treatment of winery effluent

Wastewater from wine-related industries is characterised by high variability in COD and pH. Disposal of these effluents with little or no treatment could lead to heavy financial penalties or pollution of soil and water resources. A pilot-scale rotating biological contactor (RBC) was evaluated for the treatment of winery effluent, with specific focus on the biofilms that formed on the RBC discs. On average, the RBC reduced the influent COD of the winery effluent by 23% (from 3 828 mg/ℓ to 2 910 mg/ℓ) and increased the pH by 0.95 units (from 5.77 to 6.13) at an average retention time of 1h. Similar results were obtained during evaluations at a wine-bottling plant where thick active biofilms, containing mostly yeasts, formed on the discs and proved stable and resilient to various physical and chemical shocks. WaterSA Vol.30 (3) 2004: 407-41