Effects of simulated rainfall intensity on water flow through soil in two tillage systems

Diffuse losses of phosphorus from agricultural land to freshwater reservoirs have gained increasing interest in later years. Resent research suggests that phosphorus is mainly transported from the fields through macropores, and that soil under reduced forms of tillage can develop a higher macroporosity and thus an increased risk of phosphorus leaching compared to conventionally tilled soil, because of the more rapid flows of water through the soil. In this study field measurements of flow responses to variations in rainfall and laboratory measurements of soil dry bulk density, soil porosity and soil water retention characteristics were compared for a heavy clay soil subject to reduced and conventional tillage respectively. In the field, rainfall with intensities of 10 or 33 mm/h were simulated and percolating water was collected from a cavity dug out at 40-45 cm depth and the collected volume was measured at given times. A simple dual-permeability model was also made and its ability to describe flow responses to changes in rainfall intensity was evaluated through comparison with the field measurements. Flow responses to variations in rainfall intensity were rather similar between the two tillage treatments. Stabilized outflow rates were also very similar between the treatments; between 4 and 8.5 mm/h under the lower rainfall intensity and between 22 and 28 mm/h under the higher. Neither of the parameters measured at the lab showed any clear differences between the two tillage treatments. The model was able to describe the timing of changes in outflow in response to changes in rainfall intensity, but the simulated outflow rate was higher than what was measured and the model also described different final soil water contents after rainfall from those that were measured. Overall, the measurements did not show any effect of tillage treatment on soil hydraulic properties on the profile scale; flow showed dependence mainly on rainfall intensity and soil moisture conditions. The model would need to account for water flow from macropores to matrix to better be able to describe the total outflow from the profile

Surface and subsurface transport pathways for pesticides to surface waters

Risk assessment and mitigation of pesticides losses to surface waters is a major challenge due to spatial and temporal variation in the factors that influence underlying transport processes. This thesis examines effects of spatial and temporal variation in soil properties on such losses and the pathways along which the transport occurs. Spatial variation in pesticide concentrations in streamflow were monitored in a small Swedish agricultural catchment with a large variation in soil types. Temporal variability in the structural and hydraulic properties that largely control the partitioning between surface and subsurface runoff was examined through field measurements and laboratory experiments. Considerable changes in the volume, size distribution and connectivity of structural pores due to rainfall were observed in the harrowed layer after tillage, both in the field and the laboratory. In the field these changes were associated with decreases in near-saturated hydraulic conductivities of around one order of magnitude. Effects of wetting and drying on total porosity and the pore size distribution (PSD) varied between soils of different texture and organic carbon content. Post-tillage changes in soil structural and hydraulic properties could be accounted for in mechanistic models as changes in total porosity and the PSD and functions relating soil properties to the magnitude of these changes should be useful for parameterization. The ability to predict pesticide losses through surface runoff could thus be expected to increase. At the catchment scale, consistently larger numbers of compounds at larger concentrations were found in a sub-catchment with a relatively large proportion of clay soils than in a sub-catchment with a smaller proportion of such soils. Only a few compounds at trace concentration were found in a third sub-catchment with coarser textured soils. Temporal stability of this spatial pattern suggests that the relative risk of pesticide losses to surface waters is related to soil properties under Swedish agro-environmental conditions. Soil texture maps could thus be used as a simple method for identification of high-risk areas. In the studied catchment, which is to a large extent subsurface drained and where surface connectivity between fields and the stream is limited, drainage was found to be a more likely dominant transport pathway than surface runoff

Storage for water and plant nutrients

Structural rationalizations and regionalization of the agricultural sector in Sweden has lead to unevenness in the distribution of plant nutrients. Nutrients are lost from crop producing farms as harvest products are sold, while farms with animal production often have manure in excess of their needs. In addition to this the retention of water and nutrients in naturally occurring wetlands has decreased due to a reduction of wetlands in number and size in the agricultural landscape. This increases nutrient levels in agricultural run-off and causes eutrophication as well as nutrient losses from arable soils. One potential solution to both problems would be to store nutrientrich surface water from agricultural areas and use it for irrigation of agricultural crops. This thesis is a study on the water and nutrient flows between four irrigation ponds, the irrigated fields and the streams from which water is pumped into storage. It was found that the amount of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) that had been gathered in the different ponds varied a lot between ponds, due to differences in nutrient levels in the streams and to differences in when ponds were filled. A maximum of 98 kg of N and 0.4 kg of P were collected in one of the ponds. Only small amounts of nutrients were brought back to the fields with irrigation, at the most 5 kg of N and 0.07 kg of P. It was concluded that the practice of irrigating agricultural crops with nutrient-rich surface water did not contribute much to nutrient demand, but it decreased nutrient transport further downstream as effectively as an average wetland

Desenvolvimento de um Guia de Cuidado Farmacêutico para o atendimento de pacientes em tratamento da ansiedade

TCC (graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Farmácia.A ansiedade é uma condição clínica incapacitante no Brasil e no mundo. O tratamento adequado dessa condição requer o trabalho coordenado de uma equipe de profissionais. Falhas no cuidado podem levar a redução da qualidade de vida do paciente, ao agravamento dos quadros e maiores custos para o sistema de saúde e para a sociedade. Sabe-se que os tratamentos são complexos e muitas vezes envolvem o uso de medicamentos. Neste contexto, destaca-se o papel do farmacêutico na avaliação e acompanhamento dos tratamentos, visando à adesão aos tratamentos, e que estes sejam os mais efetivos e seguros possíveis. Para tal, é necessário que estejam munidos de informação. Tendo isso em vista, o objetivo deste trabalho foi desenvolver um Guia de Cuidado Farmacêutico para auxiliar no atendimento de pacientes em tratamento da ansiedade. Assim, realizou-se um estudo descritivo transversal, com estudo de campo, para levantamento de dados a respeito de quais informações os profissionais farmacêuticos acreditam ser mais relevantes para constar no guia e quais suas dificuldades no atendimento destes pacientes. A partir disso, informações foram buscadas em diversas fontes de dados, como livros, artigos, bases de dados online, guidelines e protocolos nacionais e internacionais. O modelo de guia desenvolvido foi validado com farmacêuticos com experiência no atendimento de pacientes. O material final ficou dividido em 5 capítulos principais: tratamento da ansiedade, efetividade do tratamento, adesão ao tratamento, segurança do tratamento e comunicação com o paciente. Pretende-se que o guia elaborado sirva de instrumento de suporte, simples e organizado, para auxiliar no atendimento destes pacientes, no manejo adequado de possíveis problemas identificados, na promoção de educação em saúde e para o uso racional de medicamentos, com vistas a melhores resultados terapêuticos.Anxiety is a disabling clinical condition in Brazil and worldwide. Proper treatment of this condition requires the coordinated work of health care professionals. Failures in this system can lead to a reduction in the patient's quality of life, a worsening of clinical condition and causing higher costs for the healthcare system and for the society. It is known that treatments are complex and often involve the use of medication. In this context, the pharmacist's role is highlighted in the evaluation and follow-up of treatments, aiming at the adherence of treatments, and remaining as effective and safe as possible. For that, they need to be informed. The objective of this work was to develop a Pharmaceutical Care Guide to assist in the care of patients undergoing anxiety treatment. Therewith, a descriptive cross-sectional study with a field research, was carried out to collect data on what information pharmaceutical professionals believe to be most relevant to establish the guide and what are their difficulties in caring for these patients. From this, information was searched in data sources, such as books, articles, online databases, and national and international guidelines and protocols. The guide model developed was validated with pharmacists with experience in patient care. The final material is divided into 5 main chapters: anxiety treatment, treatment efficacy, treatment adherence, treatment safety and communication with the patient. It is intended that the guide will serve as a support tool, simple and organized, to assist in the care of these patients, in the adequate management of the possible problems identified, in the promotion of health education and the rational use of medicines, with a view to better therapeutic results

Depressão e pandemia: estudo com universitários brasileiros

Depression is a disabling, chronic and recurrent disease. Symptoms include depressed mood, displeasure in activities that previously generated pleasure, loss or significant weight gain due to changes in appetite, insomnia or hypersomnia, lack of energy, y, guilt, difficulty concentrating, low self-esteem, irritability, anxiety, and , in severe cases, can lead to suicide. It can be classified as mild, moderate or severe according to the intensity of the symptoms. This disease can worsen in several contexts, such as in situations of social isolation, due to stress, anxiety, lack or excess information. College students are affected due to the change in routine and psychological pressure. The objective of the work was to evaluate the number of university students with symptoms of depression, comparing courses in the health field with those in other areas. The research had a sample of 210 university students from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 69% female and 31% male, with an average age of 23 years. The questionnaire was sent via social network containing: a form evaluating personal data and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In relation to university students, the BDI showed that 119 (56.7%) had no symptoms, 20 (9.5%) had dysphoria and 61 (29%) had symptoms of depression. It is concluded that the data indicated high rates of depressive symptoms among the university students studied and the need for follow-up actions.A depressão é uma doença incapacitante, crônica e recorrente. Tem como sintomas humor deprimido, desprazer em atividades que antes geravam prazer, perda ou ganho significativo de peso por alteração no apetite, insônia ou hipersonia, falta de energia, sentimento de culpa, dificuldade de se concentrar, baixa autoestima, irritabilidade, ansiedade, e, em casos graves, pode levar ao suicídio. Pode ser classificadas como leve, moderada ou grave de acordo com a intensidade dos síntomas. Essa doença pode piorar em diversos contextos, como em situações de isolamento social, devido ao estresse, ansiedade, falta ou excesso de informação. Os universitários são afetados devido a mudança na rotina e a pressão psicológica. O objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar a quantidade de universitários com sintomas de depressão, comparando cursos da área da saúde com o de outras áreas. A pesquisa teve uma amostra de 210 universitários do estado do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, sendo 69% do gênero feminino e 31% masculino, com idade média de 23 anos. O questionário foi enviado via rede social contendo: um formulário avaliando dados pessoais e o Inventário de Depressão de Beck (BDI). O BDI mostrou em relação aos universitários que 119 (56.7%) não apresentaram sintomas, 20 (9.5%) apresentaram disforia e 61 (29%) apresentaram sintomas de depressão.  onclui-se que os dados indicaram altas taxas de sintomas depressivos entre os universitários estudados e a necessidade de ações de acompanhamento

Earthworm burrowing modes and rates depend on earthworm species and soil mechanical resistance

Earthworms drive multiple soil processes, but their specific impact on soil functions differs between earthworm species and ecological categories. A key challenge in modern agriculture is soil compaction due to heavy ma-chinery, but we have limited quantitative knowledge about how the burrowing activity of different earthworm species is affected by compaction. Here, we address this question in a laboratory experiment with 2-D terraria, where we used Aporrectodea caliginosa (Savigny, 1826) and Aporrectodea longa (Ude, 1885) as representatives of two different ecological categories. We exposed both species to four different soil mechanical resistance levels and monitored their burrowing activity for three days. We quantified burrowing rates and cast production, assessed the burrowing mode, and estimated energy requirements as a function of soil mechanical resistance. The results showed that the burrowing rates of both earthworm species significantly decreased with increasing soil mechanical resistance, but that the impact was species-dependent and lower for A. longa. Earthworms changed their burrowing mode towards ingestion when soil mechanical resistance increased, and this shift was more prominent for A. caliginosa that primarily burrowed via cavity expansion (i.e. by pushing soil aside) at low soil mechanical resistance. We further show that energy requirement and cast produced per unit burrow length increased with soil mechanical resistance. Our study revealed significant and species-dependent adverse effects of soil mechanical resistance on earthworm burrowing, which in turn has consequences for many soil processes mediated by earthworms, such as water infiltration, soil aeration, nutrient cycling and soil organic matter turnover

Changing Neighborhoods and Residents’ Health Perceptions: The Heart Healthy Hoods Qualitative Study

Cities, and therefore neighborhoods, are under constant change. Neighborhood changes may affect residents’ health in multiple ways. The Heart Healthy Hoods (HHH) project studies the association between neighborhood and residents’ health. Focusing on a middle–low-socioeconomic neighborhood in Madrid (Spain), our aim was to describe qualitatively its residents’ perceptions on the urban changes and their impacts on health. We designed a qualitative study using 16 semi-structured interviews including adult residents and professionals living or working in the area. Firstly, we described the perceived main social and neighborhood changes. Secondly, we studied how these neighborhood changes connected to residents’ health perceptions. Perceived major social changes were new demographic composition, new socio–cultural values and economic changes. Residents’ negative health perceptions were the reduction of social relationships, increase of stress and labor precariousness. Positive health perceptions were the creation of supportive links, assimilation of self-care activities and the change in traditional roles. Neighborhood changes yielded both negative and positive effects on residents’ health. These effects would be the result of the interrelation of different elements such as the existence or absence of social ties, family responsibilities, time availability, economic resources and access and awareness to health-promoting programs. These qualitative research results provide important insight into crafting urban health policies that may ultimately improve health outcomes in communities undergoing change

Variation i biologisk mångfald och samhällsstruktur hos bottenfauna och kiselalger i två små avrinningsområden

Cirka 90% av Sveriges vattendrag avvattnar avrinningsområden mindre än 15 km2. För dessa små vattendrag finns ytterst begränsad kunskap om biologi, kemi och hydrologi. Dessutom saknas information om aktuell status och mänsklig påverkan enligt EU:s vattendirektiv och de nationella bedömningsgrunderna. Normal provtagning av biologi i vattendrag sker på lokaler där avrinningsområdets storlek överskrider 15 km² men vi vet lite om dessa prov också representerar status och mänsklig påverkan för de uppströms liggande små vattendragen. Att det finns eventuella skillnader biologiskt mellan små och större vattendrag beror givetvis inte på avrinningsområdets storlek, utan att denna variabel är korrelerad med ekologiskt viktiga styrvariabler såsom vattenkemi (här främst surhet), substrattyp och strömhastighet. För att använda en enhetlig klassificering i denna rapport delades vattendragen upp i storleksklasser där provtagningslokalerna klassades som små < 2 km2, medelstora 2 – 10 km2 och stora > 10 km2. I studien provtogs totalt 18 stationer med avseende på biologi i två avrinningsområden (Danshytteån och Lugnån). Kemiskt skiljer sig både avrinningsområdena och de tre storleksklasserna åt, framförallt när det gäller de surhetsrelaterade parametrarna. Medelvärdet för antalet taxa av bottenfauna i de små vattendragen var lägre än i de medelstora som i sin tur var lägre än i de stora vattendragen. Det fanns inget samband (korrelation) mellan avrinningsområdets storlek och antalet taxa av bottenfauna. Det var ingen skillnad i antalet räknade taxa mellan de olika vattendragsstorlekarna för kiselalger. Det fanns inte heller något samband (korrelation) mellan antalet räknade kiselalgstaxa och avrinningsområdets storlek. För både bottenfauna och kiselalger fanns en statistiskt säkerställd skillnad i artsammansättning mellan de tre storleksklasserna av avrinningsområden. För kiselalger berodde detta främst på att de små vattendragen är sura, och i dessa hittades surhetsrelaterade taxa, till skillnad från de neutrala (oftast större) vattendragen. För både bottenfauna och kiselalger klassades i princip alla lokaler som hög/god ekologisk status. Ett viktigt resultat från studien är att de nedströms liggande provtagningslokalerna i denna studie inte på ett tillfredsställande sätt kunde påvisa påverkan högre upp i avrinningsområdet (gäller främst pH) där de nedströms liggande lokalerna klassas som nära neutrala eller neutrala medan de små vattendragen uppströms klassas som sura eller mycket sura. Det fanns däremot inte något samband mellan något index (bottenfauna och kiselalger) och totalkvävehalt i vattendragen medan DJ indexet svarade bäst mot totalfosfor gradienten i analysen av de två avrinningsområdena tillsammans. ACID indexet för kiselalger svarade bättre än MISA indexet mot pH gradienten i de två avrinningsområdena tillsammans. Slutsatser: Det är främst tre saker som behöver göras för att utöka vår förståelse för och kunskap om de små vattendragen: i) en provtagningsmetod för bottenfauna som ger jämförbara resultat med den standardiserade sparkprovtagningen bör utvecklas (troligtvis genom att man istället för att ta fem enmetersprov, tar ett större antal prov med en surberliknande provtagare, men där den totala provtagna ytan motsvarar de 1.25 m2 som är den yta som provtas enligt den standardiserade sparkprovtagning), ii) en större jämförelse mellan artsammansättning av bottenfauna och kiselalger i uppströms liggande småvattendrag och nedströms större vattendrag bör genomföras där i första hand opåverkade vattendrag provtas för att se vilken effekt storlek av vattendragen har på den biologiska mångfalden och artsammansättningen när man inte behöver ta hänsyn till olika typer av mänsklig påverkan (opåverkat tillstånd), iii) små vattendrag bör i några fall inkluderas i den nationella miljöövervakningen (trendstationer) för att vi skall få en uppfattning om vilken variation i artsammansättning och biologisk mångfald det finns i dessa små system jämfört med större vattendrag (de är ju t.ex. i mycket högre utsträckning än större vattendrag utsatta för risken för uttorkning respektive bottenfrysning jämfört med de större vattendrage

Thyroid hormones in relation to toxic metal exposure in pregnancy, and potential interactions with iodine and selenium

Background: Several endocrine-disrupting metals may affect thyroid function, but the few available studies of exposure during pregnancy and thyroid hormones are inconclusive. Objective: To explore if environmental exposure to cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and methylmercury (MeHg) impacts thyroid function in pregnancy, and interacts with iodine and selenium status. Methods: Women in a Swedish birth cohort provided blood and urine samples in early third trimester. Concentrations of erythrocyte Cd, Pb, and Hg (n = 544), urinary Cd and iodine (n = 542) and plasma selenium (n = 548) were measured using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Free and total thyroxine (fT4, tT4) and triiodothyronine (fT3, tT3), and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), were measured in plasma (n = 548) with electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. Metal-hormone associations were assessed in regression models, and metal mixture effects and metal-nutrient interactions were explored in Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). Results: In multivariable-adjusted regression models, a doubling of urinary Cd was associated with a mean increase in tT4 of 2.7 nmol/L (95% CI: 0.78, 4.6), and in fT3 and tT3 of 0.06 pmol/L (0.02, 0.10) and 0.09 nmol/L (0.05, 0.13), respectively. A doubling of urinary Cd was associated with a −0.002 (−0.003, −0.001) and −0.03 (−0.05, −0.02) decrease in the fT4:tT4 and fT3:tT3 ratio, respectively. A doubling of erythrocyte Hg (>1 \ub5g/kg) was associated with a decrease in fT3 and tT3 by −0.11 pmol/L (−0.16, −0.05) and −0.11 nmol/L (−0.16, −0.06), respectively, and a −0.013 (−0.02, −0.01) decrease in the fT3:fT4 ratio. BKMR did not indicate any mixture effect of toxic metals or interactions between metals and iodine or selenium in relation to the hormones. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that exposure to Cd and Hg, at levels globally prevalent through the diet, may affect thyroid function during pregnancy, independently of iodine and selenium levels. Further studies on potential implications for maternal and child health are warranted