Mental health and media links based on five essential elements to promote psychosocial support for victims: the case of the earthquake in Chile in 2010

This paper reviews the role of news with respect to the mental health of a population exposed to a disaster. It is based on the five essential elements of psychosocial care presented by Stevan E. Hobfoll et al. (2007) that can be introduced after a potentially traumatic event: promoting a sense of safety, calming, self and collective efficacy, connectedness, and hope. This study developed a method to relate these elements to television coverage and applied it to the stories (n=1,169) aired by the main networks in Chile in the 72 hours after an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck on 27 February 2010. Of the five elements, promoting a sense of safety occurred most often (82.72 per cent), whereas the others were barely present (less than 10 per cent). The study argues that these elements can increase the possibility of framing the news, given that the audience watching can also be affected by a disaster.     

Plasticity in circadian activity patterns of mesocarnivores in Southwestern Europe: implications for species coexistence

Limiting similarity theory predicts that competing species must segregate along one or more dimensions of their ecological niche in order to coexist. In predator communities, interspecific interactions are influenced by a diversity of factors; therefore, the behavioural patterns of composing species will differ due to locally adapted interactions. We deployed 32–41 camera-traps in five study areas across the Iberian Peninsula to investigate the temporal relations between mesocarnivores in SW Europe. The selection for a period of the diel cycle and plasticity in activity patterns was evaluated using the Jacobs Selection Index (JSI) and the coefficient of activity overlap (?₁). Furthermore, we investigated whether temporal shifts can facilitate coexistence by reducing activity overlap. Seven species of mesocarnivores were detected and were assigned into one of three behaviourally distinct groups: diurnal (JSI_day?≥?0.8), strictly nocturnal (JSI_night?≥?0.8) or facultative nocturnal species (0.4?≥?JSI_night?>?0.8). Most species exhibited substantial flexibility, which allowed them to locally adapt their foraging strategies (intraspecific ?₁?=?0.70–0.77). Mean Δ₁ from all interspecific pairwise comparisons was negatively correlated with the number of carnivore species with ≥10 detections (r ?0.76, p?=?0.02). Our results suggest that temporal segregation is likely to play an important role in facilitating mesocarnivore coexistence, especially with increasing community complexity, where most species’ activity peaks were asynchronous. These results contribute to understanding the dynamics and behavioural strategies of coexisting mesocarnivores, crucial for forecasting the possible outcomes of conservation or management actions.     

Sensory cues associated with host detection in a marine parasitic isopod

Parasite population dynamics and the evolution of life history characteristics are strongly associated with the process of host infection. Parasites with free-living life stages have a narrow window to infect a host and have evolved a number of mechanisms to detect and locate a host. Cymothoa excisa is a parasitic isopod that is commonly found on the Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, in the Gulf of Mexico. Here, we determined the infection window that constrains host-searching behavior in C. excisa and tested the behavioral response of the free-swimming larvae (mancae) to visual and chemical cues. Mancae were found to have an infection window of 7 days. Mancae were responsive to both visual and chemical cues. Our findings are the first to show that cymothoid isopods use visual and chemical cues to locate a host and that individuals display a host-locating strategy that maximizes host encounter rate, while reducing energy expenditure.     

Functional and morphological alterations induced by uranyl nitrate in rat submandibular gland

Exposure to uranium (U) is an occupational hazard to workers who continually handle it and an environmental risk to the population at large. Adverse effects of U on different tissues, particularly kidneys, have been reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether U might produce damage to the rat submandibular gland (SMG). Uranyl nitrate (UN) was used to evaluate the secretory responses to norepinephrine (NE) or to the parasympathomimetic agent, methacholine (MC), along with some morphological and histological parameters. In addition, the presence of U in saliva was determined by atomic absorption spectrometric techniques. Results indicate that intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of a single dose of UN (2 or 4 mg kg^?1) induced a functional decrease in the induced secretory responses in the rat SMG, demonstrating for the first time that U interferes with salivary secretion. Moreover, salivary responses to MC as well as to NE were decreased after UN administration, in time- and dose-dependent manner, displaying a higher diminution after 7 days post injection. In agreement with the functional studies, the injection of UN produced morphological alterations of SMG, consisting in a reduction of mean acinar area and a marked vacuolization. Data indicate that UN produced an adverse effect in a dose- and time-dependent manner on SMG function and morphology. Furthermore, it was shown that U was incorporated in saliva and therefore, these findings may contribute to create a useful, noninvasive method to detect the exposure to U.     

Post-fire vegetation regrowth detection in the Deiva Marina region (Liguria-Italy) using Landsat TM and ETM+ data

Obtaining quantitative information about the recovery of fire-affected ecosystems is of utmost importance from the management and decision-making point of view. Nowadays the concern about natural environment protection and recovery is much greater than in the past. However, the resources and tools available for its management are still not sufficient. Thus, attention and precision is needed when decisions must be taken. Quantitative estimates on how the vegetation is recovering after a fire can be of help for evaluating the necessity of human intervention on the fire-affected ecosystem, and their importance will grow as the problem of forest fires, climate change and desertification increases.This article performs a comparison of methods to extract quantitative estimates of vegetation cover regrowth with Landsat TM and ETM+ data in an area that burned during the summer of 1998 in the Liguria region (Italy). In order to eliminate possible sources of error, a thorough pre-processing was carried out, including a careful geometric correction (reaching RMSE lower than 0.3 pixels), a topographic correction by means of a constrained Minnaert model and a combination of absolute and relative atmospheric correction methods. Pseudo Invariant Features (PIF) were identified by implementing an automated selection method based in temporal Principal Component Analysis (PCA), which has been called multi-Temporal n-Dimensional Principal Component Analysis (mT-nD-PCA).Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) was compared against quantitative vegetation indices which are based on well known traditional vegetation indices like Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (MSAVI). Accuracy assessment was performed by regressing vegetation cover results obtained with each method against field data gathered during the fieldwork campaign carried out in the study area. Results obtained showed how vegetation cover fractions extracted from the NDVI based quantitative index were the most accurate, being superior to the rest of the techniques applied, including SMA.     

Spatial and temporal variations of urban litter in Mar del Plata, the major coastal city of Argentina

Urban littering is considered an important environmental and public issue globally. This problem is growing considerably within coastal communities of the southern region of South America. The goals of this study were to assess (1) the abundance and composition of urban litter; (2) the spatial and temporal variations of its abundance; and (3) the relationship between the abundance of litter and three anthropogenic variables (i.e. abundance of pedestrians, of parked vehicles, and of trash bins) in Mar del Plata, the most populated coastal city in Argentina. Eighty-eight transects, each covering 1425 m², were sampled along four sites from April 2008 to March 2009. Results showed 20,336 items (ca. 14 items per m²) of which cigarette butts (33%), papers (31%), and plastics (22%) were the most commonly littered items. Higher amounts of litter were found in an industrial area (city’s harbor), while the abundance of litter appeared relatively even throughout the year. Redundancy analysis techniques indicated a high abundance of all three anthropogenic variables associated with the central business district area of the city and an area in close proximity to a major seaside resort, where cigarette butts and papers dominated. This is the first study that has examined spatial and temporal variations of urban litter in a high-density coastal city in Argentina. Our results showed that addressing the problems associated with urban litter must include intensive educational and advertising campaigns directed at pedestrians and owners of parked vehicles, but waste reduction, clean-up operations and law enforcement should be also considered.     

A non-conformational QSAR study for plant-derived larvicides against Zika Aedes aegypti L. vector

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A set of 263 plant-derived compounds with larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) vector is collected from the literature,...     

Agriculture and elevation are the main factors for Pampasic stream habitat and water quality

Streams of the Pampasic plain in Southeastern South America are ecosystems affected by both water pollution and habitat alteration mainly due to agricultural activity. Water quality is influenced by the quality of habitats and both depend on land use and watershed morphology. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the variables of four factors: (1) the morphology of the watershed, (2) land use in the watershed, (3) river habitat, and (4) water quality of wadeable streams in Uruguay, as well as to determine the most representative variables to quantify such factors. We studied 28 watersheds grouped into three ecoregions and four principal activities, which generated seven zones with three to five streams each. Correlations between the variables of each factor allowed reducing the total number of variables from 57 to 32 to perform principal component analyses (PCA) by factor, reducing the number of variables to 18 for a general PCA. The first component was associated with water quality and elevation. The second was associated with the stream and watershed size, the third with habitat quality, and the fourth to the use of neighboring soils and objects in the channel. Our results indicate that agricultural intensity and elevation are the main factors associated with the habitat and water quality of these lowland streams. These factors must be especially considered in the development of water quality monitoring programs.     

Metal and nutrient dynamics in a eutrophic coastal lagoon (Óbidos, Portugal): the importance of observations at different time scales

Water and sediment quality was monitored at four sites of Óbidos coastal lagoon (Portugal) in February, May, July and October 2006, covering different hydrological conditions. Concentrations of nutrients and metals increased in autumn/winter, particularly in an inner branch with symptoms of eutrophication that receives a small tributary contaminated by agro-industrial activities. Moreover, concentrations of PO₄ ^3?, Si(OH)₄ and Mn (diffusive gradients of thin films (DGT)-measured) varied inversely with salinity. Additionally, that branch was monitored over 26-h in July 2006 to assess variations of water quality parameters, nutrients and metals on short timescale. During the night, O₂ in water reached a minimum of 40% saturation followed by a pronounced increase of DGT-measured metals and nutrients in water column: Fe and Mn (ten times); Cr, Co, PO₄ ^3? and Si(OH)₄ (six times). Enhancements were also registered for metal/Al ratios in suspended particulate matter: Mn, Cr and Cd (four to six times); Fe, Ni and Co (1.5 times). The metal distribution coefficients calculated along the 26-h survey showed a maximum at daylight suggesting a preferential association of metals with suspended particles. Data recorded under different hydrological conditions and over the 26-h survey allowed to address the influence of external and internal sources on water quality. The results of this study highlight the importance of day/night cycles on the availability of nutrients and metals in eutrophic environments.