Social contrasts and land use conflicts in the context of sustainable development and management needs: a case study from an estuarine area at northeastern Brazil

This paper discusses the misuses of estuaries in Northeast of Brazil and the social contrasts there found. The several kinds of impacts promoted by capitalist enterprises in one side and by traditional population, who uses estuary areas at another side, are in complete disagreement with the ethic of sustainable development. Our intention is to demonstrate how these aspects occur in the River Paraíba do Norte estuary, in the State of Paraíba. Observing the conditions of infrastructure besides the multiple ways to handle along with the extension of the estuary, we could recognize 59 focus of conflict between the incorrect use and sustainable mode. Most of the uses concern to traditional artisan fishing, slums and recreational marinas, reflecting the great social contrast between rich and poor people settled in area studied. Ecological and social implications of these conflicting uses are discussed and measures to improve the situation are suggested.     

Kriging and Bilinear Methods for Estimating Spatial Pattern of Atmospheric Pollutants

Two statistical methods to reconstruct the spatial pattern ofenvironmental data are compared: the Kriging and the Bilinear.The comparison is performed by evaluating two differentcharacteristics of the methods: the interpolation and the estimation. The Kriging method is demonstrated to be better thanthe Bilinear regarding all the statistics studied, although thedifferences are not very significant. Especially, the Kriging ismore efficient than the Bilinear in the reconstruction of peakvalues and it does not extrapolate local trends. The methods areapplied to a set of environmental data measured in an urban area.     

Detection of Human Enteric Viruses in Freshwater from European Countries

The transmission of water-borne pathogens typically occurs by a faecal–oral route, through inhalation of aerosols, or by direct or indirect contact with contaminated water. Previous molecular-based studies have identified viral particles of zoonotic and human nature in surface waters. Contaminated water can lead to human health issues, and the development of rapid methods for the detection of pathogenic microorganisms is a valuable tool for the prevention of their spread. The aims of this work were to determine the presence and identity of representative human pathogenic enteric viruses in water samples from six European countries by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) and to develop two quantitative PCR methods for Adenovirus 41 and Mammalian Orthoreoviruses. A 2-year survey showed that Norovirus, Mammalian Orthoreovirus and Adenoviruses were the most frequently identified enteric viruses in the sampled surface waters. Although it was not possible to establish viability and infectivity of the viruses considered, the detectable presence of pathogenic viruses may represent a potential risk for human health. The methodology developed may aid in rapid detection of these pathogens for monitoring quality of surface waters.     

Optimization of Microwave-Assisted and Conventional Heating Comparative Synthesis of Poly(lactic acid) by Direct Melt Polycondensation from Agroindustrial Banana (Musa AAA Cavendish) and Pineapple (Ananas comosus) Fermented Wastes

In Costa Rica, a lot of pineapple (Ananas comosus) and banana (Musa AAA) agroindustrial residues are generated each year. These residues can be used to obtain l-lactic acid by fermentation, ultrafiltration and electrodialysis. Poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) is a biodegradable and renewable polyester with many industrial and biomedical applications. There is a growing interest to improve the energetic efficiency of the synthesis of PLLA, because the main issue to produce this polymer is the high productive cost compared with petrochemical traditional commodities. In this research, the synthesis of PLLA through two different techniques was compared: microwave-assisted and conventional heating. On microwave synthesis the best results were obtained using lower temperatures and lower reaction times than the conventional heated synthesis. The reaction time was reduced from 15 h by conventional heating to 4.5 h using microwave-assisted synthesis.     

Source and distribution of organic matter in surface sediments from mangroves on the island of Itaparica, Bahia/Brazil

Elemental analysis and isotopic composition evaluated the impact of human activity at the surface sediments in the largest island of Todos os Santos Bay, northeastern Brazil. Saturated hydrocarbons (n-alkanes and isoprenoids) by gas chromatography coupled with a flame ionization detector and ¹³C by mass spectrometer were determined from 30 surface sediment samples in mangroves at the Itaparica Island (Bahia-Brazil) in the rainy and dry season. These data, distribution, and ratio of carbon/nitrogen showed a mixture of sources: continental, marine, and anthropogenic ones. From the chromatographic profiles, light oil contamination was observed in the dry regions of Baiacu, Campinas, and Ponta Grossa, while in Jiribatuba it was observed during the rainy season. However, δ¹³C results during dry and rainy season in the presence of oil also showed in Misericordia and Cacha Prego districts for both periods and Ponta Grossa during the rainy season. Principal component analysis, using a correlation matrix, revealed the latent relationships among all the surface sediment stations investigated and confirmed our analytical results.     

Recycled lightweight concrete made from footwear industry waste and CDW

In this paper two types of recycled aggregate, originated from construction and demolition waste (CDW) and ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) waste, were used in the production of concrete. The EVA waste results from cutting off the EVA expanded sheets used to produce insoles and innersoles of shoes in the footwear industry. The goal of this study was to evaluate the influence of the use of these recycled aggregates as replacements of the natural coarse aggregate, upon density, compressive strength, tensile splitting strength and flexural behavior of recycled concrete. The experimental program was developed with three w/c ratios: 0.49, 0.63 and 0.82. Fifteen mixtures were produced with different aggregate substitution rates (0%, 50% EVA, 50% CDW, 25% CDW–25% EVA and 50% CDW–50% EVA), by volume. The results showed that it is possible to use the EVA waste and CDW to produce lightweight concrete having semi-structural properties.     

A transgenic approach to enhance phosphorus use efficiency in crops as part of a comprehensive strategy for sustainable agriculture

Concerns about phosphorus (P) sustainability in agriculture arise not only from the potential of P scarcity but also from the known effects of agricultural P use beyond the field, i.e., eutrophication leading to dead zones in lakes, rivers and coastal oceans due to runoffs from fertilized fields. Plants possess a large number of adaptive responses to P_i (orthophosphate) limitation that provide potential raw materials to enhance P_i scavenging abilities of crop plants. Understanding and engineering these adaptive responses to increase the efficiency of crop capture of natural and fertilizer P_i in soils is one way to optimize P_i use efficiency (PUE) and, together with other approaches, help to meet the P sustainability challenge in agriculture. Research on the molecular and physiological basis of P_i uptake is facilitating the generation of plants with enhanced P_i use efficiency by genetic engineering. Here we describe work done in this direction with emphasis on the up-regulation of plant proton-translocating pyrophosphatases (H⁺-PPases).     

‘Been There Done That’: Disentangling Option Value Effects from User Heterogeneity When Valuing Natural Resources with a Use Component

Endogeneity bias arises in contingent valuation studies when the error term in the willingness to pay (WTP) equation is correlated with explanatory variables because observable and unobservable characteristics of the respondents affect both their WTP and the value of those variables. We correct for the endogeneity of variables that capture previous experience with the resource valued, humpback whales, and with the geographic area of study. We consider several endogenous behavioral variables. Therefore, we apply a multivariate Probit approach to jointly model them with WTP. In this case, correcting for endogeneity increases econometric efficiency and substantially corrects the bias affecting the estimated coefficients of the experience variables, by isolating the decreasing effect on option value caused by having already experienced the resource. Stark differences are unveiled between the marginal effects on WTP of previous experience of the resource in an alternative location versus experience in the location studied, Newfoundland and Labrador (Canada).     

Evaluation of soil contamination in intensive agricultural areas by pesticides and organic pollutants: south-eastern Spain as a case study

A comprehensive survey of the occurrence and fate of pesticides and organic contaminants in soils from an intensive agricultural area devoted to horticultural production in plastic-based greenhouses has been performed to determine if the operation under integrated pest management practices has contributed to reduce the levels of these compounds. Almería province (south-eastern Spain) was selected for the case study. 38 agricultural soil samples (each sample corresponds to an independent private greenhouse) of areas working under integrated pest management (IPM) programs have been analyzed in order to evaluate their contamination fate. Sampling was designed to cover an area of about 400 km(2). Pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), phenolic compounds and di-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) were monitored. The obtained results were compared to other studies reported in Spain and Europe. Among relevant persistent pesticides, DDTs and endosulfans were mainly found and the results indicated historical application, although recent application of endosulfan was rarely detected. PAHs were also found but to a lesser extent and derived from pyrogenic sources. DEHP levels were considerably higher in comparison to the other monitored analytes. The evaluation revealed that despite the use of IPM programs, pesticide and organic contaminants are still being detected in this type of agricultural soil, although at relatively low concentration levels. In general, the contamination rate was similar or lower in comparison to other agricultural areas from nearby regions or countries. However, further monitoring studies should be carried out to establish the possible reduction in contamination by the selected compounds.