Physicochemical fingerprinting of thermal waters of Beira Interior region of Portugal

Mineral natural waters and spas have been used for therapeutic purposes for centuries, with Portugal being a very rich country in thermal waters and spas that are mainly distributed by northern and central regions where Beira Interior region is located. The use of thermal waters for therapeutic purposes has always been aroused a continuous interest, being dependent on physicochemical fingerprinting of this type of waters the indication for a treatment in a specific pathological condition. In the present work, besides a literature review about the physicochemical composition of the thermal waters of the Beira Interior region and its therapeutic indications, it was carried out an exhaustive multivariate analysis—principal component analysis and cluster analysis—to assess the correlation between different physicochemical parameters and the therapeutic indications claims described for these spas and thermal waters. These statistical methods used for data analysis enables classification of thermal waters compositions into different groups, regarding to the different variable selected, making possible an interpretation of variables affecting water compositions. Actually, Monfortinho and Longroiva are clearly quite different of the others, and Cró and Fonte Santa de Almeida appear together in all analysis, suggesting a strong resemblance between these waters. Thereafter, the results obtained allow us to demonstrate the role of major components of the studied thermal waters on a particular therapeutic purpose/indication and hence based on compositional and physicochemical properties partially explain their therapeutic qualities and beneficial effects on human health. This classification agreed with the results obtained for the therapeutic indications approved by the Portuguese National Health Authority and proved to be a valuable tool for the regional typology of mineral medicinal waters, constituting an important guide of the therapeutic armamentarium for well and specific-oriented pathological disturbs.     

Long-term land-cover/use change in a traditional farming landscape in Romania inferred from pollen data,historical maps and satellite images

Regional Environmental Change - Traditional farming landscapes in the temperate zone that have persisted for millennia can be exceptionally species-rich and are therefore key conservation targets....     

Sustainable forest management in a mountain region in the Central Western Carpathians,northeastern Slovakia: the role of climate change

European forestry is facing many challenges, including the need to adapt to climate change and an unprecedented increase in forest damage. We investigated these challenges in a Norway spruce-dominated mountain region in Central Europe. We used the model Sibyla to explore forest biomass production to the year 2100 under climate change and under two alternative management systems: the currently applied management (CM), which strives to actively improve the forest’s adaptive capacity, and no management (NM) as a reference. Because biodiversity is thought to have mostly positive effects on the adaptive capacity of forests and on the quality of ecosystem services, we explored how climate change and management affect indicators of biodiversity. We found a differential response across the elevation-climatic gradient, including a drought-induced decrease in biomass production over large areas. With CM, the support of non-spruce species and the projected improvement of their growth increased tree species diversity. The promotion of species with higher survival rates led to a decrease in forest damage relative to both the present conditions and NM. NM preserved the high density of over-matured spruce trees, which caused forest damage to increase. An abundance of dead wood and large standing trees, which can increase biodiversity, increased with NM. Our results suggest that commercial spruce forests, which are not actively adapted to climate change, tend to preserve their monospecific composition at a cost of increased forest damage. The persisting high rates of damage along with the adverse effects of climate change make the prospects of such forests uncertain.     

Carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus stoichiometry of plankton and the nutrient regime in Cabo Frio Bay, SE Brazil

This long-term study, performed during the years 2003–2005 and 2008–2009, investigated the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) contents of the phyto- and zooplankton communities and the nutrient regime of Cabo Frio Bay, SE Brazil. The information intends to serve as baseline of the plankton C, N, and P stoichiometry for the calibration of biogeochemical and ecological models in support to future findings related to the local and regional phenomena of climatic change. Cabo Frio Bay is a small semienclosed system set adjacent to a region subject to sporadic coastal upwelling. Zooplankton exhibited average annual C, N, and P contents of 11.6?±?6.9 %, 2.8?±?1.8 %, and 0.18?±?0.08 %, and phytoplankton (>20 μm) 6.8?±?6.0 %, 1.6?±?1.5 %, and 0.09?±?0.08 %, respectively. The C/N/P ratios correspond to the lowest already found to date for a marine environment. The low C contents must have been brought about by a predominance of gelatinous zooplankton, like Doliolids/ Salps and also Pteropods. Average annual nutrient concentrations in the water were 0.21?±?0.1 μM for phosphate, 0.08?±?0.1 μM for nitrite, 0.74?±?1.6 μM for nitrate, and 1.27?±?1.1 μM for ammonium. N/P ratios were around 8:1 during the first study period and 12:1 during the second. The plankton C/N/P and N/P nutrient ratios and elemental concentrations suggest that the system was oligotrophic and nitrogen limited. The sporadic intrusions of upwelling waters during the first study period had no marked effect upon the systems metabolism, likely due to dilution effects and the short residence times of water of the bay.     

Vegetation response to hydrologic and geomorphic factors in an arid region of the Baja California Peninsula

Remotely sensed imageries were used to analyze the response of desert vegetation to physiographic factors and accumulated precipitation in drier and wetter years within a region of >16,500 km² sampled with 5,000 random pixels of 30 m. Vegetation development was indexed by the annual maximum values for greenness (SAVI) and canopy water content (NDII). Precipitation was interpolated from the 0.25° grid of the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission satellite-based estimates, showing a regional average of ～55 mm in the wetter year. The vegetation indices were only weakly related to total precipitation, often in a negative sense. Terrain factors that most often affected the vegetation indices, in multiple regression models, were Topographic Wetness Index, elevation, and slope gradient; these often had different signs for SAVI and for NDII. Models for NDII on intrusive igneous rocks gave better results than on extrusive igneous rocks. The strongest patterns in vegetation development were the contrast among Pacific coast, Cordillera, and Gulf coast subregions and the generally stronger results for NDII than SAVI.     

Toxicodynamic modeling of 137Cs to estimate white-tailed deer background levels for the Department of Energy's Savannah River Site

The U.S. Department of Energy's (USDOE) Savannah River Site (SRS) is a former nuclear weapon material production and current research facility adjacent to the Savannah River in South Carolina, USA. The purpose of this study was to determine the background radiocesium (¹³⁷Cs) body burden (e.g., from global fallout) for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) inhabiting the SRS. To differentiate what the background burden is for the SRS versus ¹³⁷Cs obtained from SRS nuclear activities, data were analyzed spatially, temporally and compared to other off-site hunting areas near the SRS. The specific objectives of this study were: to compare SRS and offsite deer herds based on time and space; to interpret comparisons based on how data were collected as well as the effect of environmental and anthropogenic influences; to determine what the ecological half-life/decay rate is for ¹³⁷Cs in the SRS deer herd; and to give a recommendation to what should be considered the background ¹³⁷Cs level in the SRS deer herd. Based on the available information and analyses, it is recommended that the determination of what is considered background for the SRS deer herd be derived from data collected from the SRS deer herd itself and not offsite collections for a variety of reasons. Offsite data show extreme variability most likely due to environmental factors such as soil type and land-use patterns (e.g., forest, agriculture, residential activities). This can be seen from results where samples from offsite military bases (Fort Jackson and Fort Stewart) without anthropogenic ¹³⁷Cs sources were much higher than both the SRS and a nearby (Sandhills) study site. Moreover, deer from private hunting grounds have the potential to be baited with corn, thus artificially lowering their ¹³⁷Cs body burdens compared to other free-ranging deer. Additionally, sample size for offsite collections were not robust enough to calculate a temporal decay curve with an upper confidence level to determine if the herds are following predicted radioactive decay rates like the SRS or if the variability is due to those points described above. Using mean yearly values, the ecological half-life for ¹³⁷Cs body burdens for SRS white-tailed deer was determined to be 28.79 years—very close to the 30.2 years physical half-life.     

Hydrologic modelling for Lake Basaka: development and application of a conceptual water budget model

Quantification of fluxes of water into and out of terminal lakes like Basaka has fundamental challenges. This is due to the fact that accurate measurement and quantification of most of the parameters of a lake’s hydrologic cycle are difficult. Furthermore, quantitative understanding of the hydrologic systems and hence, the data-intensive modelling is difficult in developing countries like Ethiopia due to limitation of sufficient recorded data. Therefore, formulation of a conceptual water balance model is extremely important as it presents a convenient analytical tool with simplified assumptions to simulate the magnitude of unknown fluxes. In the current study, a conceptual lake water balance model was systematically formulated, solved, calibrated, and validated successfully. Then, the surface water and groundwater interaction was quantified, and a mathematical relationship developed. The overall agreement between the observed and simulated lake stage at monthly time step was confirmed based on the standard performance parameters (R ², MAE, RMSE, E _f). The result showed that hydrological water balance of the lake is dominated by the groundwater (GW) component. The net GW flux in recent period (post-2000s) accounts about 56 % of the total water inflow. Hence, GW plays a leading role in the hydrodynamics and existence of Lake Basaka and is mostly responsible for the expansion of the lake. Thus, identification of the potential sources/causes for the GW flux plays a leading role in order to limit the further expansion of the lake. Measurement of GW movement and exchange in the area is a high priority for future research.     

Feature extraction using Hough transform for solid waste bin level detection and classification

This paper deals with the solid waste image detection and classification to detect and classify the solid waste bin level. To do so, Hough transform techniques is used for feature extraction to identify the line detection based on image’s gradient field. The feedforward neural network (FFNN) model is used to classify the level content of solid waste based on learning concept. Numbers of training have been performed using FFNN to learn and match the targets of the testing images to compute the sum squared error with the performance goal met. The images for each class are used as input samples for classification. Result from the neural network and the rules decision are used to build the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) graph. Decision graph shows the performance of the system waste system based on area under curve (AUC), WS-class reached 0.9875 for excellent result and WS-grade reached 0.8293 for good result. The system has been successfully designated with the motivation of solid waste bin monitoring system that can applied to a wide variety of local municipal authorities system.     

Vertical distribution of heavy metals in soil profile in a seasonally waterlogging agriculture field in Eastern Ganges Basin

The accumulation of heavy metals in soil and water is a serious concern due to their persistence and toxicity. This study investigated the vertical distribution of heavy metals, possible sources and their relation with soil texture in a soil profile from seasonally waterlogged agriculture fields of Eastern Ganges basin. Fifteen samples were collected at ～0.90-m interval during drilling of 13.11 mbgl and analysed for physical parameters (moisture content and grain size parameters: sand, silt, clay ratio) and heavy metals (Fe, Mn, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Co, Ni and Cd). The average metal content was in the decreasing order of Fe?>?Mn?>?Cr?>?Zn?>?Ni?>?Cu?>?Co?>?Pb?>?Cd. Vertical distribution of Fe, Mn, Zn and Ni shows more or less similar trends, and clay zone records high concentration of heavy metals. The enrichment of heavy metals in clay zone with alkaline pH strongly implies that the heavy metal distributions in the study site are effectively regulated by soil texture and reductive dissolution of Fe and Mn oxy-hydroxides. Correlation coefficient analysis indicates that most of the metals correlate with Fe, Mn and soil texture (clay and silt). Soil quality assessment was carried out using geoaccumulation index (I _geo), enrichment factor (EF) and contamination factor (CF). The enrichment factor values were ranged between 0.66 (Mn) and 2.34 (Co) for the studied metals, and the contamination factor values varied between 0.79 (Mn) and 2.55 (Co). Results suggest that the elements such as Cu and Co are categorized as moderate to moderately severe contamination, which are further confirmed by I _geo values (0.69 for Cu and 0.78 for Co). The concentration of Ni exceeded the effects-range median values, and the biological adverse effect of this metal is 87 %. The average concentration of heavy metals was compared with published data such as concentration of heavy metals in Ganga River sediments, Ganga Delta sediments and upper continental crust (UCC), which apparently revealed that heavy metals such as Fe, Mn, Cr, Pb, Zn and Cd are influenced by the dynamic nature of flood plain deposits. Agricultural practice and domestic sewage are also influenced on the heavy metal content in the study area.     

Antioxidant responses in the leaves of mercury-treated Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms.

Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms. plantlets were grown in 0.1 and 1.0 ppm treatment solutions of Hoagland’s hydroponic solutions modified with Hg(NO₃)₂ in order to examine the specific cellular and biochemical mechanisms involved in the tolerance of this plant exposed to mercury. This study assessed the responses of chloroplast pigments, i.e., carotenoids and chlorophylls, and evaluated the enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant systems. Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) revealed varying Hg²⁺ levels in the young and mature leaf tissues, with greater amounts of Hg²⁺ found in the tissues of the young leaves. Total chlorophyll levels, notably those of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and carotenoids, showed significant elevation in young leaf tissues, while a decrease in their levels was observed in mature leaf tissues in comparison to those of the control plants. These results lend support to the protective role of increased chlorophyll and carotenoid levels in the photosynthetic apparatus of young E. crassipes leaves in the presence of Hg²⁺. The antioxidant responses of Hg-treated E. crassipes plants were also measured, revealing a highly significant increase in catalase units, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities, and mercury-binding thiols in leaves from Hg-treated plants. Moreover, substantial differences in the degree of oxidative injury between the cells in leaves from the control and Hg-treated plants were evidenced by the lipid peroxidation activities monitored. The Hg-treatment-induced significant decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) levels was observed in 0.1-ppm Hg(NO₃)₂-exposed plants, while a highly significant increase in MDA levels was noted in 1.0-ppm Hg(NO₃)₂-exposed plants. The high degree of lipid peroxidation at 1.0-ppm Hg treatment was evidently counteracted by the compensatory protective mechanism brought about by the increased levels in chloroplast pigments and the enhanced activities of the antioxidant systems. E. crassipes responded to mercury treatments by enhancing the synthesis of chlorophyll and carotenoid pigments, enzymatic, and nonenzymatic antioxidant substances, concomitantly increasing the antioxidative activities, thus rendering E. crassipes capable of tolerating Hg-induced stress. The potential of E. crassipes as a phytoremediator is evident.