FIRELAN - An ecologically based planning model towards a fire resilient and sustainable landscape. A case study in Center Region of Portugal

This paper explores the role of landscape planning as a tool for rural fire prevention. It presents a methodology for a fire resilient and sustainable landscape model (FIRELAN) that articulates the ecological and cultural components in a suitable and multifunction land-use plan. FIRELAN is a conceptual and ecologically based model that recognizes river basin’ land morphology, microclimate and species combustibility as the fundamental factors that determine fire behavior and landscape resilience, along with the ecological network (EN) for achieving ecological sustainability of the landscape. The model is constituted by the FIRELAN Network and the Complementary Areas. This network ensures the effectiveness of discontinuities in the landscape with less combustible landuses. It also functions as a fire-retardant technique and protection of wildland-urban interface (WUI). This model is applied to municipalities from Portugal’s center region, a simplified landscape severely damaged by recurrent rural fires. The results show that land-use and tree species composition should change drastically, whereas about 72% of the case study needs transformation actions. This requires a significant increase of native or archaeophytes species, agricultural areas, landscape discontinuities and the restoration of biodiversity in Natura 2000 areas. The EN components are 79% of the FIRELAN N area, whose implementation ensures soil and water conservation, biodiversity and habitats. This paper contributes to the discussion of the Portuguese rural fires planning frameworkinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Spatial evolution of cardiovascular mortality in Paraná State, Brazil: 1989-1991 and 2006-2008

This ecological study aimed to describe the spatial distribution of cardiovascular mortality in Paraná State, Brazil (1989-1991 and 2006-2008) and its correlation with socioeconomic variables, using mortality data from the DATASUS database and population data from IBGE. Mortality rates were adjusted by the local empirical Bayesian method. Correlation analysis used the Moran I index and Spearman coefficient. There were no significant correlations or spatial dependence between mortality and socioeconomic variables. Mortality was higher in males in both periods. Cardiovascular mortality declined from 1989-1991 to 2006-2008 and was higher in females. Construction of thematic maps allowed visualization of the regions with highest cardiovascular risk. The decrease in mortality can be partially explained by expanded access to health services and improved living conditions and income.Descrever a distribuição espacial da mortalidade por doença cardiovascular na população do Paraná, Brasil (1989-1991 e 2006-2008) e sua correlação com variáveis socioeconômicas. Trata-se de estudo ecológico, com dados de mortalidade e populacionais obtidos, respectivamente, do Departamento de Informática do SUS e do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. As taxas de mortalidade foram ajustadas pela estimativa bayesiana empírica local. Utilizou-se o índice de Moran I e o coeficiente de Spearman na análise de correlação. Não foram observadas correlações significantes ou dependência espacial entre a mortalidade e as variáveis socioeconômicas. A magnitude da mortalidade foi maior no sexo masculino em ambos os triênios. A força de mortalidade por doenças cardiovasculares diminuiu entre 1989-1991 e 2006-2008, sendo maior no sexo feminino. A construção de mapas temáticos permitiu a visualização das macrorregionais com maior risco de ocorrência do agravo. A redução de mortalidade pode ser, em parte, explicada pelo maior acesso a serviços e pela melhoria das condições de vida e renda.Universidade Estadual de Ponta GrossaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)UNIFESPSciEL

Community Engagement newsletter, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Winter, August 2015

Launch of the Gauteng IDC Nguni Cattle Development Trust / Sipho Mosegedi -- Hearts of hope in Hluvukani / Tarryn Ferguson, Carlien Muller, Selma Schmidt and Rebecca Erdelen -- The 2015 Faculty Open Day / Lesego Teffu -- Visit to Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital / Prof George E Otiang’a-Owiti -- Community talks / Kobus Rabe, Rhynardt de Ridder, Ilse Jenkinson & Maike Ottermann.News articles with colour photos about the various community engagement projects of the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria.ab201

Associação de herbicidas como alternativa no controle e na avaliação do desempenho fisiológico da Conyza spp. antes da semeadura da Glycine max / Association of herbicides as alternative in the control and evaluation physiological performance of Conyza spp. before sowing Glycine max

A soja (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) é uma cultura que apresenta grande importância socioeconômica para o Brasil, mesmo com todo o aporte tecnológico empregado e adequações ao manejo, esta espécie ainda enfrenta diversos desafios, dentre elas, a alta incidência da Conyza spp., que causa grande prejuízos a cultura da soja. Devido ao uso frequente e a resistência ao glifosato, buscam-se alternativas com o uso de herbicidas de diferentes mecanismos de ação antes da semeadura, com intuito maximizar a produtividade da soja. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a associação dos herbicidas como alternativa no controle e na avaliação do desempenho fisiológico da C. spp. antes da semeadura da G. max. O experimento será conduzido, na Linha de São Luiz do Oeste, localizado no município de Toledo-PR, O solo foi classificado como LATOSSOLO VERMELHO Distroférrico, Precipitação variando de 60 a 80 mm e temperatura média em torno de 20 a 35 °C. As parcelas foram constituídas em uma área de 3 m de largura e 5 metros de comprimento, perfazendo área total de 15 m². As aplicações com os tratamentos foram realizadas utilizando um pulverizador costal. As avaliações do controle de C. spp. ocorreram aos 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 e 42 dias após a aplicação (DAA) dos herbicidas, empregando-se a escala percentual, em que 0% representa nenhum controle e 100%, o controle total das plantas daninhas. Após os 42 DAA foi realizada a massa seca da parte aérea (MSPA) (mg planta-1). O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso em esquema fatorial 7x2 + 1, com quatro repetições. O primeiro fator estudado foi a aplicação dos herbicidas: 1: Glifosato 1080 g ha-1; 2: 2,4-D 1002 g ha-1; 3: Triclopir 1002 g ha-1; 4: Sulfentrazona + Diuron 262 -525 g ha-1; 5: Glifosato + 2,4-D 1080 + 1002 g ha-1; 6: Glifosato + Triclopir 1080 + 1002 g ha-1; 7: Glifosato + Sulfentrazona + Diuron 1080 + 262-525 g ha-1. O segundo fator estudado foi a aplicação sequencial dos herbicidas: Diquate 500 g ha-1 e Glufosinato de amônia 500 g ha-1. As variáveis avaliadas foram submetidas à análise de variância pelo teste F e quando significativas, as médias foram comparadas pelo teste de Tukey (p?0,05), utilizando o Software Estatístico Agroestat. A adoção de estratégias de manejo nas áreas agrícolas, utilizando culturas de cobertura no período do inverno ou verão, aliadas a associação de herbicidas como alternativas no controle químico eficiente para serem utilizadas no momento da pré-semeadura da soja, principalmente na C. spp. em estádio de desenvolvimento inicial, são alternativas que facilitam o controle desta planta daninha, visando à maximização da utilização de área, aumentando a produtividade e garantindo a máxima lucratividade aos produtores de soja. A utilização de todos os herbicidas sozinho ou em associação, com exceção do Sulfentrazona + Diuron, proporcionaram os menores percentuais de controles e acúmulos da biomassa da Conyza spp. antes da semeadura da Glycine max

South African healthcare professionals' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding environmental sustainability in healthcare : a mixed-methods study

Climate change, biodiversity loss and large-scale environmental degradation are widely recognized as the biggest health threats of the 21st century, with the African continent already amongst the most severely affected and vulnerable to their further progression. The healthcare system’s contribution to climate change and environmental degradation requires healthcare professionals to address environmental issues urgently. However, the foundation for context-relevant interventions across research, practice, and education is not readily available. Therefore, we conducted a convergent mixed-methods study to investigate South African healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitudes, practices, and barriers to environmental sustainability. Healthcare professionals participated in a cross-sectional questionnaire (n = 100) and in-depth semi-structured focus group discussions (n = 18). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis, respectively, and integrated to provide holistic findings. Our results confirm overwhelmingly positive attitudes and a high degree of interest in education, implementation, and taking on more corresponding responsibility, but a lack of substantial knowledge of the subject matter, and only tentative implementation of practices. Identified barriers include a lack of knowledge, resources, and policies. Further research, education, and policy development on overcoming these barriers is required. This will facilitate harnessing the extant enthusiasm and advance environmental sustainability in South Africa’s healthcare practice.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL : Annexure S1: Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) Questionnaire.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerphOccupational TherapyPhysiotherapyStatistic

Propofol-Induced Changes in Neurotrophic Signaling in the Developing Nervous System In Vivo

Several studies have revealed a role for neurotrophins in anesthesia-induced neurotoxicity in the developing brain. In this study we monitored the spatial and temporal expression of neurotrophic signaling molecules in the brain of 14-day-old (PND14) Wistar rats after the application of a single propofol dose (25 mg/kg i.p). The structures of interest were the cortex and thalamus as the primary areas of anesthetic actions. Changes of the protein levels of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and nerve growth factor (NGF), their activated receptors tropomyosin-related kinase (TrkA and TrkB) and downstream kinases Akt and the extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK) were assessed by Western immunoblot analysis at different time points during the first 24 h after the treatment, as well as the expression of cleaved caspase-3 fragment. Fluoro-Jade B staining was used to follow the appearance of degenerating neurons. The obtained results show that the treatment caused marked alterations in levels of the examined neurotrophins, their receptors and downstream effector kinases. However, these changes were not associated with increased neurodegeneration in either the cortex or the thalamus. These results indicate that in the brain of PND14 rats, the interaction between Akt/ERK signaling might be one of important part of endogenous defense mechanisms, which the developing brain utilizes to protect itself from potential anesthesia-induced damage. Elucidation of the underlying molecular mechanisms will improve our understanding of the age-dependent component of anesthesia-induced neurotoxicity

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ