Ecosystem function and services provided by the deep sea

The deep sea is often viewed as a vast, dark, remote, and inhospitable environment, yet the deep ocean and seafloor are crucial to our lives through the services that they provide. Our understanding of how the deep sea functions remains limited, but when treated synoptically, a diversity of supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services becomes apparent. The biological pump transports carbon from the atmosphere into deep-ocean water masses that are separated over prolonged periods, reducing the impact of anthropogenic carbon release. Microbial oxidation of methane keeps another potent greenhouse gas out of the atmosphere while trapping carbon in authigenic carbonates. Nutrient regeneration by all faunal size classes provides the elements necessary for fueling surface productivity and fisheries, and microbial processes detoxify a diversity of compounds. Each of these processes occur on a very small scale, yet considering the vast area over which they occur they become important for the global functioning of the ocean. The deep sea also provides a wealth of resources, including fish stocks, enormous bioprospecting potential, and elements and energy reserves that are currently being extracted and will be increasingly important in the near future. Society benefits from the intrigue and mystery, the strange life forms, and the great unknown that has acted as a muse for inspiration and imagination since near the beginning of civilization. While many functions occur on the scale of microns to meters and timescales up to years, the derived services that result are only useful after centuries of integrated activity. This vast dark habitat, which covers the majority of the globe, harbour processes that directly impact humans in a variety of ways; however, the same traits that differentiate it from terrestrial or shallow marine systems also result in a greater need for integrated spatial and temporal understanding as it experiences increased use by society. In this manuscript we aim to provide a foundation for informed conservation and management of the deep sea by summarizing the important role of the deep sea in society.

Regional consumption of antibiotics : a demand system approach

Through this paper. we have attempted to model the demand for different classes of antibiotics used for respiratory infections in outpatient care in Switzerland using a spatial version of the linear approximate Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) model. This model takes spatial dependency into account by means of spatial lags of antibiotic budget shares. We control for the health status of patients and the potential harmful effects of antibiotic use in terms of bacterial resistance. Elasticities to socioeconomic determinants of consumption and own- and cross-price elasticities between different groups of antibiotic have also been computed in this paper. Significant cross-price elasticities are found between newer or more expensive generations and older or less expensive generations of antibiotics. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abus sexuels et conversion religieuse : une approche narrative fondée sur la triple mimèsis de Paul Ricœur

Bien qu’on ait longtemps considéré le désespoir ou la souffrance comme un facteur de précipitation de l’expérience religieuse, aucune étude n’a été effectuée sur les liens entre une expérience d’abus sexuels et une conversion religieuse subséquente. Une revue de la littérature sur la dynamique religieuse des abus sexuels révèle deux paradigmes opposés : la religion comme ressource ou comme facteur de risque. De même, un examen des études sur la conversion indique trois dichotomies : un converti actif ou passif, une conversion soudaine ou progressive, et la conversion comme phénomène normal ou pathologique. Or, un recensement des témoignages anecdotiques de victimes d’abus sexuels qui ont subséquemment vécu une conversion suggère que l'interaction entre les deux événements est plus complexe. Pour dépasser ces dichotomies paradigmatiques, nous préconisons une approche narrative. Plus spécifiquement, nous utilisons le concept d’identité narrative développé par Paul Ricœur. Ce concept s’inscrit dans la dynamique ricœurienne de triple mimèsis, laquelle assure une fonction de liaison entre le champ pratique et le champ narratif. De façon générale, notre stratégie méthodologique consiste à déterminer comment, à partir d’éléments biographiques issus de la préfiguration (mimèsis I), le sujet configure son récit pour donner sens à son expérience (mimèsis II) et la refigure pour aboutir à une identité de survivant ou de converti (mimèsis III). Sept entrevues non directives ont été effectuées auprès de personnes qui ont subi des abus sexuels durant leur enfance et qui ont plus tard vécu une conversion religieuse dans le milieu évangélique. À partir de l'analyse en trois étapes mentionnée ci-dessus, nous évaluons la contribution positive ou négative des divers éléments narratifs et, surtout, de leur interaction à la construction de l’identité narrative du sujet. Nous en concluons que le rapport entre des abus sexuels subis durant l’enfance et une conversion ultérieure n’est pas si simple que la littérature pourrait le laisser soupçonner. La conversion peut s’avérer salutaire à la survie du sujet et contribuer à la guérison du traumatisme sexuel qu’il a subi. Toutefois, certains éléments religieux peuvent faire obstacle au processus de recouvrement. Ces éléments nocifs varient d’un sujet à l’autre, et ce qui est délétère pour l’un peut être bénéfique pour l’autre, selon la configuration du récit.

Increasing consumption of ultra-processed foods and likely impact on human health: evidence from Brazil

Objective: To assess time trends in the contribution of processed foods to food purchases made by Brazilian households and to explore the potential impact on the overall quality of the diet. Design: Application of a new classification of foodstuffs based on extent and purpose of food processing to data collected by comparable probabilistic household budget surveys. The classification assigns foodstuffs to the following groups: unprocessed/minimally processed foods (Group 1); processed culinary ingredients (Group 2); or ultra-processed ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat food products (Group 3). Setting: Eleven metropolitan areas of Brazil. Subjects: Households; n 13 611 in 1987-8, n 16 014 in 1995-5 and n 13 848 in 2002-3. Results: Over the last three decades, the household consumption of Group 1 and Group 2 foods has been steadily replaced by consumption of Group 3 ultra-processed food products, both overall and in lower- and upper-income groups. In the 2002-3 survey, Group 3 items represented more than one-quarter of total energy (more than one-third for higher-income households). The overall nutrient profile of Group 3 items, compared with that of Group 1 and Group 2 items, revealed more added sugar, more saturated fat, more sodium, less fibre and much higher energy density. Conclusions: The high energy density and the unfavourable nutrition profiling of Group 3 food products, and also their potential harmful effects on eating and drinking behaviours, indicate that governments and health authorities should use all possible methods, including legislation and statutory regulation, to halt and reverse the replacement of minimally processed foods and processed culinary ingredients by ultra-processed food products.

Acúmulo e disponibilidade de cromo, cádmio e chumbo em solos tratados com lodo de esgoto por onze anos consecutivos

The sewage sludge used for agricultural purposes provides many benefits to soil, but it contain harmful elements to environment, that infers in a great attention on its use. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of successive applications of sewage sludge on heavy metals accumulation (cadmium, chromium and lead) in samples of soils and corn plants, as well as evaluate the chemicals extractants efficiency in estimate the phyto disponibility of those elements. The experiment was conducted in randomized blocks design in the 2007/08 season, with 4 treatments (0, 5, 10 and 20 Mg ha-1 of sewage sludge) and 5 replicates. It was evaluated: the quantities available of Cd, Cr and Pb in soil by Melich-1, Melich-3 and DTPA extractants; the quantities extracted by corn plants; and the correlation between the disposition and quantities of those metals on whole plants, diagnosis leaves and corn grains. The application of sewage sludge for eleven consecutive years has not showed increase in total quantity nor availability of Cr, Cd and Pb in the evaluated soils. The extractor Melich-1 was the only one that showed significant correlation for availability of Cd, Cr and Pb in soil and corn plants. The correlation of metal availability in soil x leaf diagnosis was significant only for Pb with the Melich-3 and DTPA extractants

Genotoxicity and mutagenicity of Rosmarinus officinalis (Labiatae) essential oil in mammalian cells in vivo

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Cidadãos privados: uma investigação sobre o processo de fortificação do interior paulista

Pós-graduação em Ciências Sociais - FFC

Multielemental evaluation of garbage bags by EDXRF

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Genotoxic responses of juvenile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exposed to florfenicol and oxytetracycline

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Remoção de elementos potencialmente tóxicos em resíduo sólido da indústria canavieira para utilização como condicionador de solo na agricultura

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Influence Assessment in an Heteroscedastic Errors-in-Variables Model

The main goal of this article is to consider influence assessment in models with error-prone observations and variances of the measurement errors changing across observations. The techniques enable to identify potential influential elements and also to quantify the effects of perturbations in these elements on some results of interest. The approach is illustrated with data from the WHO MONICA Project on cardiovascular disease.

[Smokeless tobacco: a new risk factor for oral health? A review]

Due to migration of different ethnic groups, mainly from Africa and Asia, into Switzerland, many traditional products and habits that have not been seen before were also introduced. Smokeless tobacco (ST)--as one of those habits--is a product of increased use in Switzerland, although no sound epidemiological data are presently available. Numerous studies from North-America, Sweden, Asia and Africa could verify the carcinogenic potency of smokeless tobacco and its effects in the developement of oral cancer and different systemic disorders. For dental professionals and their team it is important to detect ST-associated lesions, and to tell the patients about the potential harmful sequelae of ST products. The present review focusses on the different types of RT products and their effects on oral health.

Fine-mapping and mutation analysis of TRPM1: a candidate gene for leopard complex (LP) spotting and congenital stationary night blindness in horses.

Leopard Complex spotting occurs in several breeds of horses and is caused by an incompletely dominant allele (LP). Homozygosity for LP is also associated with congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB) in Appaloosa horses. Previously, LP was mapped to a 6 cm region on ECA1 containing the candidate gene TRPM1 (Transient Receptor Potential Cation Channel, Subfamily M, Member 1) and decreased expression of this gene, measured by qRT-PCR, was identified as the likely cause of both spotting and ocular phenotypes. This study describes investigations for a mutation causing or associated with the Leopard Complex and CSNB phenotype in horses. Re-sequencing of the gene and associated splice sites within the 105 624 bp genomic region of TRPM1 led to the discovery of 18 SNPs. Most of the SNPs did not have a predictive value for the presence of LP. However, one SNP (ECA1:108,249,293 C>T) found within intron 11 had a strong (P < 0.0005), but not complete, association with LP and CSNB and thus is a good marker but unlikely to be causative. To further localize the association, 70 SNPs spanning over two Mb including the TRPM1 gene were genotyped in 192 horses from three different breeds segregating for LP. A single 173 kb haplotype associated with LP and CSNB (ECA1: 108,197,355- 108,370,150) was identified. Illumina sequencing of 300 kb surrounding this haplotype revealed 57 SNP variants. Based on their localization within expressed sequences or regions of high sequence conservation across mammals, six of these SNPs were considered to be the most likely candidate mutations. While the precise function of TRPM1 remains to be elucidated, this work solidifies its functional role in both pigmentation and night vision. Further, this work has identified several potential regulatory elements of the TRPM1 gene that should be investigated further in this and other species.

The association between smoking marijuana and the occurrence of lung cancer

It is still unclear if an association exists between the smoking of marijuana and the occurrence of lung cancer although one clearly exists between cigarette smoking and lung cancer. The objective of this study was to systematically review the literature in order to assess the impact of marijuana smoking, which is increasingly becoming a significant public health issue, on the occurrence of the number one killing cancer, lung cancer. ^ Method. Selected studies in the English language conducted on humans that assess the impact of marijuana smoking on lung cancer were identified from EBSCO MEDLINE, PUBMED, and GOOGLE databases. The search keywords were marijuana, cannabis, hashish, kif, and lung cancer with selection criteria including studies in the English language identified from 1950 to April 2008. Excluded were non-research studies such as editorials, letters, and reviews. Also excluded were studies that did not involve humans with direct intentional marijuana smoking or in vivo studies with mice. Case report studies or case series studies involving less than 10 patients were also excluded as well as studies that did not examine lung conditions related to premalignant or cancerous changes. ^ Results. Ten studies met the selection criteria and were analyzed. The ten studies in this review overall offer biological evidence of the potential association between marijuana smoking and premalignant lung findings but no overwhelming conclusive evidence for the association between marijuana smoking and the occurrence of lung cancer. Two of the observational studies [1, 2] failed to demonstrate an association between marijuana and lung cancer, but the remaining studies supported an association between marijuana smoking and premalignant or malignant lung findings. ^ Conclusion. It must, therefore, be concluded that no convincing evidence exists, based on the existing data, for an association between marijuana smoking and the occurrence of lung cancer even though the few observational studies failing to report such an association may be due to certain limitations particularly the relative young age of the participants precluding sufficient lag time for the identification of lung cancer outcome as explained in other sections of this paper. ^ Further research is, therefore, necessary to better evaluate this critical issue, while recommendations against smoking marijuana because of its potential harmful effects, including the potential for premalignant lung changes as noted in this review, should continue to be made. ^ In the future, large prospective studies with study participants representing a much wider spectrum of ages, and longer follow-up periods, with detailed assessment of marijuana exposure and definitive pathologic diagnosis of lung cancer are necessary^

Vacíos urbanos en la ciudad de Zaragoza (1975-2010). Oportunidades para la estructuración y continuidad urbana

La expansión de las ciudades hacia la periferia en las últimas décadas ha generado una serie de tejidos en colisión, donde los intersticios y los espacios residuales muestran la realidad de una ciudad dispersa. A esta serie de espacios intermedios los denominaremos “vacíos urbanos” y determinaremos una serie de factores que hagan posible su identificación Los vacíos urbanos son el objeto de la Tesis. El concepto “vacío urbano” adquiere un determinado significado para la investigación y se acota formulando una serie de parámetros para su definición. Definiremos los “vacíos urbanos” como espacios que han aparecido en el extrarradio de las ciudades, fruto de una expansión sin precedentes de las áreas urbanas. Han surgido como lugares residuales condicionados por elementos naturales o por infraestructuras, ligados a una temporalidad incierta, no inmersos en la dinámicas urbanas o habiendo perdido su funcionalidad. El objetivo de esta investigación es localizar y clasificar los vacíos existentes en la ciudad partiendo de la hipótesis de que es posible establecer una metodología para su reconocimiento y comprobación de los parámetros que los definen. La investigación centra su estudio en la ciudad de Zaragoza, como un ejemplo paradigmático, confirmando que la nueva fenomenología territorial, no sólo se manifiesta en dicha ciudad y en las áreas en concreto donde se ha estudiado, sino que más bien se trata de observarla como una serie de modelos tipológicos que respondan a un proceso de análisis. La propuesta metodológica de loa tesis pasa por reconocerlos, mostrarlos y darles una visibilidad que permita su clasificación, el desarrollo de un estudio de Áreas de la ciudad donde se localizan y un análisis de cada tipología de vacío urbano. Como instrumento metodológico se ha elaborado una detallada cartografía a diferentes escalas. La realización de los planos ha sido el medio de análisis que ha permitido localizar e interpretar los vacíos, complementado con unas escogidas fotografías de estos entornos. La metodología se convierte en un modo de descubrir y analizar los vacíos, el proceso conlleva la comprobación y la clasificación en una tipología. Según se han ido analizando nuevas áreas, se confirma como un hecho repetitivo exitoso y se observa que es aplicable a otras áreas urbanas de similares características, donde se den las condiciones principales de cada tipo. En general, deberán ser espacios localizados en la periferia de núcleos urbanos donde aparezcan fenómenos ligados a una expansión discontinua. Parece probable que el futuro de la ciudad se tenga que resolver en las próximas décadas sobre su actual extensión; bajo este supuesto, es trascendente la función que los vacíos puedan desempeñar en el futuro desarrollo urbano. Toda posibilidad de intervención precisará de una necesaria reinterpretación, puestas las miras en su potencial como elementos capaces de generar una rehabilitación urbana. A su vez se hace conveniente plantear una reflexión sobre estos espacios cargados de una dimensión social y cultural, como lugares capaces de articular y dotar de identidad al medio urbano. Los vacíos deberían protagonizar un papel relevante en la estructuración urbana, abriendo posibilidades para el tramado de la ciudad desde nuevas perspectivas. Una apuesta para que estos espacios libres pasen de ser el objetivo de procesos urbanizadores tradicionales, a ser considerados como oportunos elementos vertebradores de los entornos periurbanos, colaborando en el objetivo de una ciudad contemporánea sostenible. ABSTRACT In the last decades the city periphary expansion has provoked a series of matters to collide, where interstices and waste lands show the reality of a divided city. We shall determine a number of factors allowing us to treat these “in between” spaces, also called "urban voids" as identifiable elements. We will consider them the subject of the thesis and establish them as a "concept", delimiting the meaning of the research specifically acquired, defining, and formulating a set of parameters. "Urban voids" are defined as spaces that have appeared on the outskirts of cities, the result of an unprecedented expansion of urban areas. They have emerged as waste lands, conditioned by natural elements or infrastructure, related to uncertain temporality, not immersed in the urban dynamics, or having lost their functionality. It seems likely that in the upcoming decades, the future of the city will have to resolve its current way of expanding . It is under this assumption that urban voids, as intermediate spaces, will play an important role in future urban developments. Any possible intervention will require a necessary reinterpretation, closely watching their potential as elements capable of generating an urban rehabilitation. At the same time, we wish to reflect on these spaces, in many cases loaded with a social and cultural dimension, as places able to articulate and give identity to the urban environment. Based on the hypothesis that it is possible to establish a methodology for recognition and verification, the purpose of this research is to locate and classify the existing urban voids in the city. The research focuses its study on the city of Saragossa which can be seen as a paradigmatic example. The objective is to confirm that this new territorial phenomenology, not only manifests itself in Saragossa and specific areas under study, but also, can be observed as a series of typological models that respond to a review process. The methodological proposal will recognize, demonstrate, and exhibit these urban voids, in a light that will allow us to classify them, examine the different areas where they can be found, and develop a tipology analysis of each type of urban void found. The technical tool used in this research is a detailed mapping at different scales. A realization of plans, as a mean of analysis, supplemented with a few selected pictures of these environments, will facilitate the location and interpretation of these voids. This scholarly approach to discover and analyze urban voids will involve checking and classifying them in a typology. It has been confirmed as a successful constant regulator while exploring new areas. It will be apply to other urban areas with similar characteristics, that is, spaces located on the periphery of urban areas where expansion is linked to the appearence of discontinuous phenomena. The urban voids play a fundamental role within the urban structure, providing the city a weaving scheme with opportunities of fresh perspectives. The challenge for these free spaces is to move from being the consequence of traditional urban development processes, to being considered opportune backbone elements of peri-urban environments, and to finally contribute to the objectives of a sustainable contemporary city.