Hydrodynamic Modeling of the Mundaú-Manguaba Estuarine-Lagoon System, Brazil

Background Lagoons are shallow coastal water bodies which occupy 13 % of the world’s total coastlines. Healthy lagoons have a rich aquatic fauna and can provide an economic benefit for the people living in its vicinity. Due to anthropogenic activities, the water quality in many lagoons is deteriorating. The Mundaú-Manguaba Estuarine-Lagoon System is no exception. BOD-rich water from the nearby sugar plantations along with large amount of untreated sewage from the nearby city of Maceió are contributing to the deteriorating water quality in the lagoon system. A computerized model can be a useful tool in terms of forecasting the effects of different actions taken to improve the water quality. Such a model already exists, called IPH-ECO, but uses data collected in 1984 and consequently needs a thorough overhaul. The morphology of the lagoon system has changed mainly due to sediment infilling; therefore the model needs to be updated regarding bathymetry and sediments. Objectives The purpose of this master thesis is to construct an updated hydrodynamic model over the Mundaú-Manguaba Estuarine-Lagoon System in Brazil. In order to achieve this, bathymetry and sediment information needs to be collected, analyzed and finally digitized. A field camping will be executed where data regarding depth and salinity variation in the lagoons will be collected. Two scenarios will be tested with the newly calibrated model to demonstrate the usability of the model. Procedure This thesis was initiated in September 2013 with a literature review where lagoons in general and the Mundaú-Manguaba Estuarine-Lagoon System in particular were studied. Data collection and field measurements were carried out in Maceió, Brazil, between January and March 2014. During this time a new field campaign was carried out in order to get updated data concerning depth and salinity. To run the IPH-ECO model the boundary conditions had to be updated. That includes tidal fluctuations, river flows, bathymetry and Chezy coefficients. With the data collected from the sensors various new simulations were performed in IPH-ECO in order to calibrate the model. When the calibration process was completed the correlation between model and sensor was evaluated. Lastly the scenarios were simulated. Conclusions Mundaú lagoon could be calibrated well hydrodynamically with high correlation between sensor data and model. The calibration of Manguaba lagoon did not provide as satisfying results due to the lack of data concerning bathymetry and sediments. The two different scenarios were simulated successfully and show that the model can be used to predict future flooding in case of an extreme wet season and improve the water quality by the decreased renewal time which a new ocean inlet would bring. It is recommended that a new bathymetry survey is conducted in the southern part of Manguaba so that the whole lagoon system can be calibrated hydrodynamically. It is also recommended that calibration continues regarding lagoon salinity

A mega-analysis of fixed-dose trials reveals dose-dependency and a rapid onset of action for the antidepressant effect of three selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors

The possible dose-dependency for the antidepressant effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) remains controversial. We believe we have conducted the first comprehensive patient-level mega-analysis exploring this issue, one incentive being to address the possibility that inclusion of low-dose arms in previous meta-analyses may have caused an underestimation of the efficacy of these drugs. All company-sponsored, acute-phase, placebo-controlled, fixed-dose trials using the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and conducted to evaluate the effect of citalopram, paroxetine or sertraline in adult major depression were included (11 trials, n = 2859 patients). The single-item depressed mood, which has proven a more sensitive measure to detect an antidepressant signal than the sum score of all HDRS items, was designated the primary effect parameter. Doses below or at the lower end of the usually recommended dose range (citalopram: 10-20 mg, paroxetine: 10 mg; sertraline: 50 mg) were superior to placebo but inferior to higher doses, hence confirming a dose-dependency to be at hand. In contrast, among doses above these, there was no indication of a dose-response relationship. The effect size (ES) after exclusion of suboptimal doses was of a more respectable magnitude (0.5) than that usually attributed to the antidepressant effect of the SSRIs. In conclusion, the observation that low doses are less effective than higher ones challenges the oft-cited view that the effect of the SSRIs is not dose-dependent and hence not caused by a specific, pharmacological antidepressant action. Moreover, we suggest that inclusion of suboptimal doses in previous meta-analyses has led to an underestimation of the efficacy of these drugs

Ny teknik för kombisådd

The use of combi-drilling during spring tillage has become very common in southern Sweden in recent years. Combi-drilling leads to fewer passes on the field and better plant nutrient utilisation. An example of a combi-drill is the Väderstad Rapid, which is very widely used in spring tillage in southern Sweden. The Rapid has separate fertiliser and seed coulters, which means that the draught requirement is relatively high. It thus requires large, heavy tractors, which compact the soil and are comparatively expensive to buy and run. A few years ago the Finnish combi-drill Tume Nova Combi came onto the Swedish market. This machine places the seed and fertiliser using the same coulter, with the fertiliser placed just below the seed. The risk with placing the fertiliser so near the seed is that it can lead to a relatively high salt content in the vicinity of the seed, which can result in lower yields. In this work, we evaluated the Tume Nova Combi combi-drilling method and compared it with the conventional combi-drilling method in the form of Väderstad Rapid. The work comprised three sub-sections: 1. An overview of the literature on combi-drilling in Sweden 2. A practical field experiment in which we used Tume Nova Combi and Väderstad Rapid to combi-drill malting barley. The results were evaluated by counting plant emergence in experimental plots drilled by the two different combi-drilling methods. 3. An interview survey of farmers with experience of Tume Nova Combi. We found that there were significant differences in emergence of malting barley between the two combi-drilling methods at the Lönnstorp Experimental Station in the very dry spring of 2005. Tume Nova Combi, which places the fertiliser near the seed, gave a somewhat lower emergence (around 15% less) than the Väderstad Rapid. The poor plant emergence was probably due to the fertiliser burning off some of the seed. Furthermore, the effects of high salt concentration in the immediate vicinity of the seed may have been particularly large in this experiment, since only 5 mm of rain fell between drilling and emergence.Användning av kombisådd vid vårbruk i södra Sverige har blivit mycket vanlig under de senaste åren. Kombisådd leder till färre överfarter på fältet och bättre växtnäringsutnyttjande. Ett exempel på kombisåmaskin är Väderstads Rapid som är mycket vanligt förekommande i det sydsvenska vårbruket. Rapiden har både gödnings- och utsädesbillar, vilket gör att dragkraftsbehovet blir relativt stort. Därmed behövs stora och tunga traktorer som packar marken och som är förhållandevis dyra att äga och köpa. Sedan några år tillbaka finns den finska kombisåmaskinen Tume Nova Combi på den svenska marknaden. Denna maskin sår ut utsäde och gödning med samma bill, men gödningen läggs strax under utsädet. Risken med att lägga gödningen nära utsädet är att det kan leda till en relativt hög salthalt i utsädets närhet, vilket kan resultera i en lägre avkastning. Vi har i detta arbete utvärderat Tume Nova Combis kombisåmetod och jämfört den med konventionell kombisåmetod i form av Väderstad Rapid. I arbetet finns tre delmoment: 1. En översiktlig litteraturgenomgång om kombisådd i Sverige. 2. Ett praktiskt fältförsök där vi använde Tume Nova Combi och Väderstad Rapid för kombisådd av maltkorn. Resultatet har utvärderats genom att räkna plantuppkomsten i försöksleden från de båda kombisåmetoderna. 3. En intervjuundersökning av lantbrukare med erfarenhet av Tume Nova Combi. Vi har kommit fram till att det finns signifikanta skillnader i uppkomst mellan de olika kombisåmetoderna vid sådd av maltkorn under den mycket torra våren 2005 på Lönnstorps försöksstation. Tume Nova Combi, som lägger gödningen nära utsädet, har en något sämre uppkomst, i vårt försök ca 15 %, jämfört med Väderstad Rapid. Rekommendationen att öka på utsädesmängden med cirka 20 % verkar därför ganska rimlig. Den sämre plantuppkomsten beror sannolikt på att gödningen har ”bränt” bort en del av utsädet. Vidare kan effekten av höga salthalter i utsädets omedelbara närhet ha varit speciellt stort i detta försök, eftersom det mellan sådd och uppkomst kom endast fem millimeter regn

Local ethnic composition and Natives’ and Immigrants’ geographic mobility in France, 1982-1999

This article provides empirical results on patterns of native and immigrant geographic mobility in France. Using longitudinal data, we measure mobility from one French municipality (commune) to another over time and estimate the effect of the initial municipality’s ethnic composition on the probability of moving out. These data allow us to use panel techniques to correct for biases related to selection based on geographic and individual unobservables. Our findings tend to discredit the hypothesis of a “white flight” pattern in residential mobility dynamics in France. Some evidence does show ethnic avoidance mechanisms in natives’ relocating. We also find a strong negative and highly robust effect of co-ethnics’ presence on immigrants’ geographic mobility

Preferential centrality as a multi-regional model for spatial interaction and urban agglomeration

Understanding how transportation networks affect regional development has been a long-standing challenge for modellers in several disciplines, both in research and practice. Approaches span between light-weight accessibility and centrality models, to data-heavy land use-transport interaction models. Centrality models have been increasingly employed to support spatial planning on the city-scale, where such techniques are attractive due to their low requirements of socio-economic and demographic data, while they also maintain representations of essential features such as accessibility. However, it has been less clear if such approaches can be successfully extended from the urban to the regional scale. In this paper we demonstrate how a recently introduced centrality measure – preferential centrality – can be used as a modelling framework on the multi-regional scale, while retaining high intra-urban spatial resolution. Centrality is calculated on a zonal level, with local plot characteristics and network travel times as input. Preferential centrality is calculated similarly to Google PageRank and eigenvector centrality, but with preferential growth as an additional component that represents local agglomeration processes. To examine the explanatory power of this approach, we compare computed centrality with empirical land taxation values, using the southern half of Sweden as a case study area. Using a static accessibility model as benchmark, we find that the preferential model has a higher capacity to reproduce empirical patterns, with regard to geographical correlations as well as for probability distributions. Our findings suggest that preferential centrality analysis can have practical value in urban and regional planning contexts, for example when assessing the geographical distribution of impacts from transport infrastructure investments

Self-concepts and psychological health in children and adolescents with reading difficulties and the impact of assistive technology to compensate and facilitate reading ability

This study investigated self-image, psychological health, and the impact of Assistive Technology (AT) on self-concept and psychological health in 137 children and adolescents with reading difficulties during a systematic intervention program and in a one-year follow-up. Participants were randomly assigned to a control or an intervention group. The interventions aimed to teach participants how to understand texts using AT. The control group received no intervention. To investigate self-esteem, self-image, anxiety, and depression, all participants were assessed with the Cultural Free Self-Esteem Inventory, 3rd edition (CFSEI-3) before intervention and one year post-interventions. Forty-one participants were also assessed on the Beck Youth Inventory (BYI). The AT was found to have no impact on participants\u27 self-esteem. The CFSEI-3 showed similar values for self-esteem in a norm group and the study groups at pre-intervention, which made an increase from using AT less expected. The results are discussed in terms of contextual explanatory factors, such as educators\u27 increased knowledge of reading difficulties and dyslexia. The results on the BYI were somewhat inconclusive since the younger group of participants showed more anxiety than the norm group, but the adolescent group did not. This may be due to small sample size, so further research is recommended

Impact of chosen cutoff on response rate differences between selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and placebo

Response defined as a 50% reduction in the sum score of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17-sum) is often used to assess the efficacy of antidepressants. Critics have, however, argued that dichotomising ratings with a cutoff close to the median may lead to scores clustering on either side, the result being inflation of miniscule drug-placebo differences. Using pooled patient-level data sets from trials of three selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (citalopram, paroxetine and sertraline) (n = 7909), and from similar trials of duloxetine (n = 3478), we thus assessed the impact of different cutoffs on response rates. Response criteria were based on (i) HDRS-17-sum, (ii) the sum score of the HDRS-6 subscale (HDRS-6-sum) and (iii) the depressed mood item. The separation between SSRI and placebo with respect to response rates increased when HDRS-17-sum was replaced by HDRS-6-sum or depressed mood as effect parameter and was markedly dependent on SSRI dose. With the exception of extreme cutoff values, differences in response rates were largely similar regardless of where the cutoff was placed, and also not markedly changed by the exclusion of subjects close to the selected cutoff (e.g., \ub110%). The observation of similar response rate differences between active drugs and placebo for different cutoffs was corroborated by the analysis of duloxetine data. In conclusion, the suggestion that using a cutoff close to the median when defining response has markedly overestimated the separation between antidepressants and placebo may be discarded

Expression of 22 serotonin-related genes in rat brain after sub-acute serotonin depletion or reuptake inhibition

Objective: Although the assessment of expression of serotonin-related genes in experimental animals has become a common strategy to shed light on variations in brain serotonergic function, it remains largely unknown to what extent the manipulation of serotonin levels causes detectable changes in gene expression. We therefore chose to investigate how sub-acute depletion or elevation of brain serotonin influences the expression of a number of serotonin-related genes in six brain areas. Methods: Male Wistar rats were administered a serotonin synthesis inhibitor, para-chlorophenylalanine (p-CPA), or a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, paroxetine, for 3 days and then sacrificed. The expression of a number of serotonin-related genes in the raphe nuclei, hypothalamus, amygdala, striatum, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex was investigated using real-time quantitative PCR (rt-qPCR). Results: While most of the studied genes were uninfluenced by paroxetine treatment, we could observe a robust downregulation of tryptophan hydroxylase-2 in the brain region where the serotonergic cell bodies reside, that is, the raphe nuclei. p-CPA induced a significant increase in the expression of Htr1b and Htr2a in amygdala and of Htr2c in the striatum and a marked reduction in the expression of Htr6 in prefrontal cortex; it also enhanced the expression of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) in raphe and hippocampus. Conclusion: With some notable exceptions, the expression of most of the studied genes is left unchanged by short-term modulation of extracellular levels of serotonin

Millora 2.0: : Redovisning av resultat för 2018 –2022

Based on repeated yearly surveys of the vascular plant flora in 120 hectar plots in the province of Scania, southernmost Sweden, analysed in combination with speciesspecific traits and ecological indicator values (EIVs), changes in the flora and vegetation over the last four years are reported. Many of the changes observed, such as significant increases in lightdemanding, shortlived, pollinatorindependent species with a persistent seed bank, occurred after the extremely hot and dry summer of 2018 but has since then gradually disappeared. However, other changes plausibly also triggered by the extreme summer of 2018 are still evident and may even become persistent, e.g. general increases for species preferring a warmer climate, those with relatively low nitrogen demands and not forming mycorrhiza. Other trends, such as an increase in species richness (similar for both native and nonnative species), and increases for droughttolerant species and species with particularly early or late phenology are evident throughout the study period and are likely reflections of longterm trends driven by changes in land use and climate. Species clearly favored by the drought in 2018 but which has since then gradually dropped back include Galium aparine, Barbarea vulgaris, Bromus hordeaceus, Luzula mutiflora, Phleum pratense, Festuca rubra, Cerastium arvense and Torilis japonica, while e.g. Crepis capillaris, Carex hirta, Jacobaea vulgaris and Veronica serpyllifolia show steadily increasing trends. The only species showing a significant decrease is Sinapis arvensis, possibly being affected by the introduction of new herbicides in the agriculture