Farming for nature in the Montado: the application of ecosystem services in a results-based model

The Montado is a silvopastoral system with a tree cover of predominantly Quercus suber but also Quercus rotundifolia, where cattle or sheep graze the understory. It occupies more than one million hectares in southern Portugal, and a similar landscape, the Dehesa, covers ca. three million hectares in Spain. These silvopastoral systems can simultaneously benefit the environment and socio-economic activities by providing a bundle of ecosystem services (ESs). However, an ongoing trend of decline in tree density and the covered area is threat-ening such provision. Policies are needed to motivate farmers to secure the ESs that they provide. One possible format is the development of a results-based model (RBM) for agri-environment schemes (AES), implemented under the Common Agricultural Policy. In an RBM, farmers are paid when they deliver specific environmental results (ERs) (e.g. healthy and functional soils), that are linked with the provision of different (and often mul-tiple) ESs. This study defines possible ERs for the Montado and details how these results are linked to the pro-vision of ESs. It then considers management actions that can allow the achievement of these ERs and the costs of these actions. Our methodological approach is based on a transdisciplinary dialogue involving researchers, practitioners (i.e farmers), public authorities and policy makers. The results of the process include the identi-fication of four main ERs: a healthy soil ecosystem, a biodiverse native-Mediterranean pasture, an oak tree layer where regeneration exists (i.e. trees of different ages), and preserved or enhanced landscape elements, for example riparian galleries with vegetation. These ERs increase the supply of provisioning services (e.g. cork production), of regulating services, (e.g. carbon sequestration), and cultural services (e.g. aesthetic inspiration). RBMs allow farmers to use any management practice they choose as the focus is on the results. Nonetheless, to estimate costs we identified 12 potential strategic management practices (and their cost) along with the technical support that farmers would need. We conclude that an RBM could be an affordable solution for public policies in the Montado system, given the limited government budget for supporting AES.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Application of the comet assay in the evaluation of the semi-synthetic n-butyl dillapiole ether in Balb/C mice.

The semi-synthetic n-butyl ether dillapiole (EBD) has a potential effect on the control of Aedes aegypti, the vector of the dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever virus. However, there are no studies on the risk of exposure to this compound to the health of humans and other animals. In this sense, the Comet Assay Test is used to detect genomic lesions that can result in mutations. Objective: evaluate the incidence of DNA damage in blood cells of isogenic mice treated with EBD

The effect of continuous positive airway pressure on blood pressure in patients with obstructive sleep apnea and uncontrolled hypertension : study design and challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES: To describe the MORPHEOS (Morbidity in patients with uncontrolled HTN and OSA) trial, and describe the challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: MORPHEOS is a multicenter (n=6) randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the blood pressure (BP) lowering effects of treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or placebo (nasal strips) for 6 months in adult patients with uncontrolled hypertension (HTN) and moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Patients using at least one antihypertensive medication were included. Uncontrolled HTN was confirmed by at least one abnormal parameter in the 24-hour ABPM and >= 80% medication adherence evaluated by pill counting after the run-in period. OSA was defined by an apnea-hypopnea index >= 15 events/ hours. The co-primary endpoints are brachial BP (office and ambulatory BP monitoring, ABPM) and central BP. Secondary outcomes include hypertension-mediated organ damage (HMOD) to heart, aorta, eye, and kidney. We pre-specified several sub-studies from this investigation. Visits occur once a week in the first month and once a month thereafter. The programmed sample size was 176 patients but the pandemic prevented this final target. A post-hoc power analysis will be calculated from the final sample. ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02270658. RESULTS: The first 100 patients are predominantly males (n=69), age: 52±10 years, body mass index: 32.7±3.9 kg/m2 with frequent co-morbidities. CONCLUSIONS: The MORPHEOS trial has a unique study design including a run-in period; pill counting, and detailed analysis of hypertension-mediated organ damage in patients with uncontrolled HTN that will allow clarification of the impact of OSA treatment with CPAP

2017 recommendations of the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology for the pharmacological treatment of rheumatoid arthritis

The objective of this document is to provide a comprehensive update of the recommendations of Brazilian Society of Rheumatology on drug treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), based on a systematic literature review and on the opinion of a panel of rheumatologists. Four general principles and eleven recommendations were approved. General principles: RA treatment should (1) preferably consist of a multidisciplinary approach coordinated by a rheumatologist, (2) include counseling on lifestyle habits, strict control of comorbidities, and updates of the vaccination record, (3) be based on decisions shared by the patient and the physician after clarification about the disease and the available therapeutic options; (4) the goal is sustained clinical remission or, when this is not feasible, low disease activity. Recommendations: (1) the first line of treatment should be a csDMARD, started as soon as the diagnosis of RA is established; (2) methotrexate (MTX) is the first-choice csDMARD; (3) the combination of two or more csDMARDs, including MTX, may be used as the first line of treatment; (4) after failure of first-line therapy with MTX, the therapeutic strategies include combining MTX with another csDMARD (leflunomide), with two csDMARDs (hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine), or switching MTX for another csDMARD (leflunomide or sulfasalazine) alone; (5) after failure of two schemes with csDMARDs, a bDMARD may be preferably used or, alternatively a tsDMARD, preferably combined, in both cases, with a csDMARD; (6) the different bDMARDs in combination with MTX have similar efficacy, and therefore, the therapeutic choice should take into account the peculiarities of each drug in terms of safety and cost; (7) the combination of a bDMARD and MTX is preferred over the use of a bDMARD alone; (8) in case of failure of an initial treatment scheme with a bDMARD, a scheme with another bDMARD can be used; in cases of failure with a TNFi, a second bDMARD of the same class or with another mechanism of action is effective and safe; (9) tofacitinib can be used to treat RA after failure of bDMARD; (10) corticosteroids, preferably at low doses for the shortest possible time, should be considered during periods of disease activity, and the risk-benefit ratio should also be considered; (11) reducing or spacing out bDMARD doses is possible in patients in sustained remission

Electromagnetic Counterparts of Compact Object Mergers Powered by the Radioactive Decay of R-process Nuclei

The most promising astrophysical sources of kHz gravitational waves (GWs) are the inspiral and merger of binary neutron star(NS)/black hole systems. Maximizing the scientific return of a GW detection will require identifying a coincident electro-magnetic (EM) counterpart. One of the most likely sources of isotropic EM emission from compact object mergers is a supernova-like transient powered by the radioactive decay of heavy elements synthesized in ejecta from the merger. We present the first calculations of the optical transients from compact object mergers that self-consistently determine the radioactive heating by means of a nuclear reaction network; using this heating rate, we model the light curve with a one dimensional Monte Carlo radiation transfer calculation. For an ejecta mass ~1e-2 M_sun[1e-3 M_sun] the resulting light curve peaks on a timescale ~ 1 day at a V-band luminosity nu L_nu ~ 3e41[1e41] ergs/s (M_V = -15[-14]); this corresponds to an effective "f" parameter ~3e-6 in the Li-Paczynski toy model. We argue that these results are relatively insensitive to uncertainties in the relevant nuclear physics and to the precise early-time dynamics and ejecta composition. Due to the rapid evolution and low luminosity of NS merger transients, EM counterpart searches triggered by GW detections will require close collaboration between the GW and astronomical communities. NS merger transients may also be detectable following a short-duration Gamma-Ray Burst or "blindly" with present or upcoming optical transient surveys. Because the emission produced by NS merger ejecta is powered by the formation of rare r-process elements, current optical transient surveys can directly constrain the unknown origin of the heaviest elements in the Universe.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures; accepted to MNRAS; title changed to highlight r-process connection and new figure added

Stress ocupacional no ensino : um estudo com professores dos 3º ciclo e ensino secundário

Este trabalho foi realizado com 689 professores portugueses, a leccionarem nos terceiro ciclo e ensino secundário. Foram avaliados indicadores de stress, “burnout”, saúde física e satisfação profissional. Observaram-se valores significativos de stress ocupacional (perto de 40%), e de “burnout” (10% na exaustão emocional, 3% na baixa realização pessoal e 1% na despersonalização), vários problemas de saúde física e valores de insatisfação profissional perto dos 20%. As análises de regressão múltipla apontaram diferentes variáveis preditoras para as três dimensões do “burnout” (62% de variância explicada na exaustão emocional, 16% na realização pessoal e 13% na despersonalização). As análises discriminantes e “t-test” para amostras independentes demonstraram maior stress ocupacional nas mulheres, nos professores mais velhos, nos profissionais com vínculos profissionais mais precários, nos professores com mais horas de trabalho e com mais alunos em sala de aula. No final, apresentam-se as limitações do estudo e as implicações para a investigação futura.(undefined

Standalone vertex finding in the ATLAS muon spectrometer

A dedicated reconstruction algorithm to find decay vertices in the ATLAS muon spectrometer is presented. The algorithm searches the region just upstream of or inside the muon spectrometer volume for multi-particle vertices that originate from the decay of particles with long decay paths. The performance of the algorithm is evaluated using both a sample of simulated Higgs boson events, in which the Higgs boson decays to long-lived neutral particles that in turn decay to bbar b final states, and pp collision data at √s = 7 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2011

Measurements of Higgs boson production and couplings in diboson final states with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Measurements are presented of production properties and couplings of the recently discovered Higgs boson using the decays into boson pairs, H →γ γ, H → Z Z∗ →4l and H →W W∗ →lνlν. The results are based on the complete pp collision data sample recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 25 fb−1. Evidence for Higgs boson production through vector-boson fusion is reported. Results of combined fits probing Higgs boson couplings to fermions and bosons, as well as anomalous contributions to loop-induced production and decay modes, are presented. All measurements are consistent with expectations for the Standard Model Higgs boson