Global dataset of soil organic carbon in tidal marshes.

Tidal marshes store large amounts of organic carbon in their soils. Field data quantifying soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks provide an important resource for researchers, natural resource managers, and policy-makers working towards the protection, restoration, and valuation of these ecosystems. We collated a global dataset of tidal marsh soil organic carbon (MarSOC) from 99 studies that includes location, soil depth, site name, dry bulk density, SOC, and/or soil organic matter (SOM). The MarSOC dataset includes 17,454 data points from 2,329 unique locations, and 29 countries. We generated a general transfer function for the conversion of SOM to SOC. Using this data we estimated a median (± median absolute deviation) value of 79.2 ± 38.1 Mg SOC ha-1 in the top 30 cm and 231 ± 134 Mg SOC ha-1 in the top 1 m of tidal marsh soils globally. This data can serve as a basis for future work, and may contribute to incorporation of tidal marsh ecosystems into climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies and policies.

Factors associated with the performance of episiotomy.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors associated with the performance of episiotomy. METHODS: Cross-sectional study, developed with data from the research "Born in Belo Horizonte: Labor and birth survey, "conducted with 577 women who had their children via vaginal birth. In order to verify the magnitude of the association between episiotomy and its possible determinants, logistic regression models were constructed to estimate the odds ratio. RESULTS: Episiotomy was performed in 26.34% of women, and 59.21% knew they had been subjected to it. We observed that younger women, primiparous women, women assisted by a professional other than the obstetric nurse and women who had their babies in a private hospital have an increased chance of being submitted to this procedure. CONCLUSION: Considering the rates of episiotomy, this study highlights the need for the absolute contraindication to indiscriminate performing it.

Historical sedimentary deposition and flux of PAHs, PCBs and DDTs in sediment cores from the western Adriatic Sea.

The sources and depositional history of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and organochlorine compounds (OCs) over the last century were investigated in sediment cores from the North Adriatic Sea (Po River prodelta) and the South-Western Adriatic Margin (SWAM). Contaminant concentrations were higher in the Po River prodelta. ∑16PAHs ranged from 193 to 533 ng g-1, ∑5PCBs ranged from 0.9 to 5.2 ng g-1 and ∑DDTs (p,p'-DDD + p,p'-DDE) ranged from 0.1 to 2.5 ng g-1. In the SWAM, ∑PAHs ranged from 11 to 74 ng g-1 while ∑PCB and ∑DDT concentrations were close to the MQL. Accordingly, contaminant fluxes were much higher in the northern (mean values of 152 ±â€¯31 ng cm2 y-1 and 0.70 ±â€¯0.35 ng cm2 y-1 for PAHs and OCs, respectively) than in the southern Adriatic (2.62 ±â€¯0.9 ng cm2 y-1 and 0.03 ±â€¯0.02 ng cm2 y-1 for PAHs and OCs, respectively). The historical deposition of PAHs seemed to be influenced by the historical socioeconomic development and by changes in the composition of fossil fuel consumption (from petroleum derivatives to natural gas) in Italy from the end of the 19th century to the present. Similarly, vertical variations in DDT concentrations matched its historical use and consumption in Italy, which started around in the mid-late 1940s to fight typhus during the II World War. Contaminant concentrations detected in sediments does not seem to pose ecotoxicological risk for marine organisms in the Adriatic Sea.

Factors associated with the performance of episiotomy / Factores relacionados a la realización de episiotomía / Fatores associados à realização de episiotomia

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the factors associated with the performance of episiotomy. Methods: Cross-sectional study, developed with data from the research "Born in Belo Horizonte: Labor and birth survey, "conducted with 577 women who had their children via vaginal birth. In order to verify the magnitude of the association between episiotomy and its possible determinants, logistic regression models were constructed to estimate the odds ratio. Results: Episiotomy was performed in 26.34% of women, and 59.21% knew they had been subjected to it. We observed that younger women, primiparous women, women assisted by a professional other than the obstetric nurse and women who had their babies in a private hospital have an increased chance of being submitted to this procedure. Conclusion: Considering the rates of episiotomy, this study highlights the need for the absolute contraindication to indiscriminate performing it.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Evaluar los factores relacionados a la realización de episiotomía. Métodos: Estudio transversal, desarrollado con datos de la investigación "Nascer en Belo Horizonte: Averiguación sobre el parto y nacimiento", realizada con 577 mujeres que tuvieron sus hijos por vía vaginal. Para verificar la magnitud de la relación entre la realización de episiotomía y sus posibles determinantes, han sido construidos modelos de regresión logística para estimar la odds ratio. Resultados: La episiotomía ha sido realizada en 26,34% de las mujeres; y, de estas, 59,21% sabían que habían sido sometidas a ella. Se observó que mujeres más jóvenes, primigestas, mujeres asistidas por profesional que no sea enfermero obstetra y mujeres que tuvieron sus bebés en hospital privado presentan aumento en la chance de ser sometidas a eso procedimiento. Conclusión: Considerando las tajas del uso de la episiotomía, este estudio destaca la necesidad de contraindicación absoluta de su realización indiscriminada.

RESUMO Objetivo: Avaliar os fatores associados à realização de episiotomia. Métodos: Estudo transversal, desenvolvido com dados da pesquisa "Nascer em Belo Horizonte: Inquérito sobre o parto e nascimento", realizada com 577 mulheres que tiveram seus filhos por via vaginal. Para verificar a magnitude da associação entre a realização de episiotomia e seus possíveis determinantes, foram construídos modelos de regressão logística para estimar a odds ratio. Resultados: A episiotomia foi realizada em 26,34% das mulheres; e, destas, 59,21% sabiam que haviam sido submetidas a ela. Observou-se que mulheres mais jovens, primigestas, mulheres assistidas por profissional que não o enfermeiro obstetra e mulheres que tiveram seus bebês em hospital privado apresentam aumento na chance de serem submetidas a esse procedimento. Conclusão: Considerando as taxas do uso da episiotomia, este estudo destaca a necessidade de contraindicação absoluta de sua realização indiscriminada.

Factors associated with the performance of episiotomy / Factores relacionados a la realización de episiotomía / Fatores associados à realização de episiotomia

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze the factors associated with the performance of episiotomy. Methods: Cross-sectional study, developed with data from the research "Born in Belo Horizonte: Labor and birth survey, "conducted with 577 women who had their children via vaginal birth. In order to verify the magnitude of the association between episiotomy and its possible determinants, logistic regression models were constructed to estimate the odds ratio. Results: Episiotomy was performed in 26.34% of women, and 59.21% knew they had been subjected to it. We observed that younger women, primiparous women, women assisted by a professional other than the obstetric nurse and women who had their babies in a private hospital have an increased chance of being submitted to this procedure. Conclusion: Considering the rates of episiotomy, this study highlights the need for the absolute contraindication to indiscriminate performing it.

RESUMEN Objetivo: Evaluar los factores relacionados a la realización de episiotomía. Métodos: Estudio transversal, desarrollado con datos de la investigación "Nascer en Belo Horizonte: Averiguación sobre el parto y nacimiento", realizada con 577 mujeres que tuvieron sus hijos por vía vaginal. Para verificar la magnitud de la relación entre la realización de episiotomía y sus posibles determinantes, han sido construidos modelos de regresión logística para estimar la odds ratio. Resultados: La episiotomía ha sido realizada en 26,34% de las mujeres; y, de estas, 59,21% sabían que habían sido sometidas a ella. Se observó que mujeres más jóvenes, primigestas, mujeres asistidas por profesional que no sea enfermero obstetra y mujeres que tuvieron sus bebés en hospital privado presentan aumento en la chance de ser sometidas a eso procedimiento. Conclusión: Considerando las tajas del uso de la episiotomía, este estudio destaca la necesidad de contraindicación absoluta de su realización indiscriminada.

RESUMO Objetivo: Avaliar os fatores associados à realização de episiotomia. Métodos: Estudo transversal, desenvolvido com dados da pesquisa "Nascer em Belo Horizonte: Inquérito sobre o parto e nascimento", realizada com 577 mulheres que tiveram seus filhos por via vaginal. Para verificar a magnitude da associação entre a realização de episiotomia e seus possíveis determinantes, foram construídos modelos de regressão logística para estimar a odds ratio. Resultados: A episiotomia foi realizada em 26,34% das mulheres; e, destas, 59,21% sabiam que haviam sido submetidas a ela. Observou-se que mulheres mais jovens, primigestas, mulheres assistidas por profissional que não o enfermeiro obstetra e mulheres que tiveram seus bebês em hospital privado apresentam aumento na chance de serem submetidas a esse procedimento. Conclusão: Considerando as taxas do uso da episiotomia, este estudo destaca a necessidade de contraindicação absoluta de sua realização indiscriminada.

Historical record of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the continental shelf of the Korea Strait.

The vertical distribution of PCBs was measured in a dated core from the continental shelf of the Korea Strait. The historical trend of deposition and fluxes of individual and total PCB agreed well with the dynamics of historical tendencies of PCBs consumption in South Korea up to mid-1980 and a peak of total PCBs of 810 ng kg-1 was recorded at the turn of the 1960s. A second period of deposition, when concentrations of total PCB up to 1007 ng kg-1 were reached, was evidenced between 1989 and 2010 after the ban of PCBs. Sediments deposited in 1990s-2010, and sediments deposited in the period of maximum PCBs use (1956-1983) are both enriched in the less chlorinated homologue groups (tri- and tetrachlorobyphenyls) and congener PCB 118. However, the ratio of dioxin-like PCBs, and dichloro- and hexachloro homologue groups disclosed compositional variations between the two time periods. Source analysis suggested that PCBs in the sediment record mainly originated from Kanechlor 300, Kanechlor 400 and Aroclor 1242 technical mixtures overlapped by secondary/unintentional combustion sources from regional steel making processes in the last decades (1990s-2010).

Sediment quality assessment in a coastal lagoon (Ravenna, NE Italy) based on SEM-AVS and sequential extraction procedure.

Sediments from the Pialassa Piomboni coastal lagoon (NE Italy) were studied to assess the degree of contamination and ecological risk related to trace metals by combining a geochemical characterization of bulk sediments with the assessment of the bioavailable forms of trace metals. With this purpose, sediment contamination (Cd, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) was assessed by Enrichment Factors (EFs), and potential bioavailability by the Simultaneously Extracted Metals and Acid Volatile Sulfides (SEM-AVS) approach (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn), and by Sequential Extraction Procedure (Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn). On average, Cr and Ni exhibited no contamination (EF ≤1.5), and a predominance in the residual fraction of the sediment, indicating natural origin for these metals. Cu, Pb and Zn displayed a local contamination, which resulted in a higher proportion of Cu bound to the reducible and oxidizable fractions (~30% and ~40% as median, respectively), and Pb mostly associated with the reducible phase (~60% as median). Hence, Cu and Pb could be mobilized when environmental conditions become reducing or oxidizing. Zn resulted mainly partitioned into the reducible and residual fractions (~50% as median, in both fractions). The Risk Assessment Code (RAC) indicated that approximately 30% of samples had >10% of total Zn weakly bound to the sediment, suggesting a medium risk of exposure for aquatic organisms. RAC results were consistent with the ∑SEM-AVS findings, pointing to possible adverse effects for aquatic biota in ~30% of samples, with Zn mostly accounting for the total metal bioavailability. Hg showed a moderate to very severe enrichment, indicating that a substantial amount of this metal derives from anthropogenic sources and may pose adverse effects on the aquatic biota of the Pialassa Piomboni lagoon.

Detecting long-term temporal trends in sediment-bound metals in the western Adriatic (Mediterranean Sea).

Major and trace metal concentrations were determined in western Adriatic sediment cores. Based on sediment chronology, the earliest anthropogenic influence appeared as a Zn and Pb increase in the Po River prodelta starting from ~1914. The increasing contamination signal of these trace metals propagated southward as far as 450km with a growing delay, taking ~10years to reach the south Adriatic Sea. Although greater inventories of excess trace metals in the northern sector pointed to the influence of the intense human activities in the Po River drainage basin and Venice lagoon system, we observed a reduction of excess trace metals from mid-1980s, related to the implementation of stricter environmental regulations on chemical wastewaters. In contrast, an increase in trace metal accumulation in surficial sediment from the 2000s in front of the cities of Ancona and Bari suggested a recent local input of trace metals, probably due to harbor activities.

Spatial patterns and temporal trends of trace metal mass budgets in the western Adriatic sediments (Mediterranean Sea).

Spatial patterns of major (Al, Fe and Ti) and trace metals (Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn) measured in surficial sediments collected within the Late-Holocene mud-wedge in the western Adriatic Sea were analyzed to elucidate their sources, transport and mass budgets. Distributions of sedimentary trace metals, their fluvial inputs and accumulation loads reveal along-shore transport towards the southern Adriatic. Pb and to a lower extent Zn accumulation loads over time decreased significantly since 1988 in the North Adriatic, consistently with the implementation of regulations in the Western Europe, whereas Zn accumulation in the Po River prodelta remained unchanged since 1995. The Po River fluvial inputs accounted for half of Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn of the fluvial inputs into the western Adriatic Sea, contributing for the delivery of important amounts of Cr and Ni into the sediments, probably related to the natural occurrence of ultramafic rocks in the North sector. Collectively, ~30% of trace metal fluvial inputs discharged into the North sector are exported to the Central and South sectors. The Po River acts as both a bypass and an accumulation zone. In contrast, trace metal accumulation in the Central sector far exceed trace metal fluvial inputs, which suggested that this area is a preferential sink for particle-reactive river-borne material from the North Adriatic. The North sector shows moderate enrichment of Zn and Pb mainly related to the Po River influence. The anthropogenic fraction of Pb shows a large drop of ~30% from the North sector southwards, whereas Zn proportions remain fairly the same up to the Central sector only decreasing in the South sector.

Distribution and fate of legacy and emerging contaminants along the Adriatic Sea: A comparative study.

The spatial distributions and fates of selected legacy and emerging compounds were investigated and compared in surface sediments sampled along the Adriatic mud-wedge and in deep-sea regions from the southern Adriatic basin. Results indicated that the concentrations of legacy contaminants (PAHs, PCBs and DDTs) and emerging contaminants (tonalide, galaxolide, EHMC, octocrylene, BP3 and NP) ranged from 0.1 to 572 ng g-1 and from

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in sediments from the western Adriatic Sea: Sources, historical trends and inventories.

Sources, historical trends and inventories of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were investigated in sediments collected in five transects along the north-south axis of the western Adriatic Sea. The concentration of total PCBs (∑28 PCBs) ranged from

Spatial patterns of metals, PCDDs/Fs, PCBs, PBDEs and chemical status of sediments from a coastal lagoon (Pialassa Baiona, NW Adriatic, Italy).

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) establishes a framework for the protection and improvement of all water bodies including transitional waters; its final objective is to achieve at least 'good status' by 2015. In the present work, a hierarchical sampling design was applied to analyze the influence of anthropogenic inputs on the spatial distribution of metals, polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) dibenzofurans (PCDFs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediment at four areas in Pialassa Baiona coastal lagoon. In order to assess the chemical status, levels of priority substances and other pollutants were compared with the recently developed national Environmental Quality Standards (EQS) and site specific background levels for metals. Levels of mercury and PCBs were particularly high and exceeded their national EQS values at all sampled areas, thus not contributing to the achievement of a good chemical status of this transitional water body according to the WFD classification.

Trace metals in sediment cores from Deception and Penguin Islands (South Shetland Islands, Antarctica).

This paper presents information on the levels of trace elements in sediments collected at Deception and Penguin Islands and tracks the sources of natural and anthropogenic inputs of metals into this sub-Antarctic region. The results suggest that natural processes, such as volcanic activity, hydrothermal processes and sediment transport, are more important than anthropogenic inputs in accounting for the metal concentrations measured in sediments at Deception Island. The higher levels of trace metals recorded in sediments at Penguin Island seem to reflect the composition of the source rocks of the island, which are dominated by the olivine-basalt group. Our findings show that human activities in the study areas may contribute to negligible levels of trace metals associated with anthropogenic inputs (e.g., Cr and Zn) in sediments, and these results can be used in the future as background levels related to low anthropogenic impacts.

Utilização de dentes bovinos compossível substituto aos dentes humanos nos testes in vitro: revisão de literatura / Bovine teeth as possible substitute to human teeth in laboratory studies: current findings reviewed

Um dos desafios atuais para a pesquisa odontológica é a dificul-dade de se conseguir dentes humanos hígidos em quantidade suficiente. Além disso, outras dificuldades, como a necessidade de padronização dos substratos, redução do risco de infecção e a questão bioética, têm motivado o desenvolvimento de pesquisas científicas que visam a conseguir um substituto viável para os dentes humanos. A proposta deste estudo foi realizar uma revisão de literatura avaliando uma possível substituição do substrato humano. O esmalte bovino parece ser um substituto adequado ao esmalte humano, mas a dentina deve ser utilizada com cautela, visto que incidências e profundidades aleatórias do corte, em relação aos túbulos dentinários, podem alterar os resultados.

One of the currently challenges for dentistry research is the difficulty to obtain enough amounts of higid human teeth. Moreover, other difficulties as standardization of substrates, reduction of infection risk and bioethics question involving humans have stimulated the develop-ment of scientific research to obtain an available substitute for human teeth. The proposal of this study was to make a literature review and to evaluate a possible substitution for the human substrate. The bovine enamel seems to be an adequate substitute to the human enamel, but the dentine must be used with caution, since random incidences and depths of the slices in relation to the dentin tubules can modify the results.

Assessing degradation capability of aerobic indigenous microflora in PAH-contaminated brackish sediments.

A study was conducted to determine polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) distribution and microbial population changes in brackish sediments from an Italian lagoon included in the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance. The presence and level of PAH-degrading bacteria were estimated by the most probable number (MPN) enumeration technique, whereas degradation capability towards target compounds was checked against loss of spiked PAHs (Phenanthrene, Anthracene and Fluoranthene) in MPN tubes after incubation in optimal conditions. Chemical analyses and microbiological counts suggested a potential for PAHs biodegradation by natural occurring populations of sediment microorganisms, thus indicating an "optimal range" in sediment PAHs concentrations, outside of which the natural selection of the indigenous microflora did not occur. The MPN procedure here described, provided an effective and reliable way to simultaneously determine microbial population densities and subsequent confirmation of the biodegradation capability of sediment indigenous microflora when exposed to laboratory and environmental concentrations of PAHs.

Optimisation of a microbial bioassay for contaminated soil monitoring: bacterial inoculum standardisation and comparison with Microtox assay.

This work represents the first step to set up a toxicity testing procedure and to evaluate the sensitivity of the test microorganism to several classes of environmental pollutants. First, three different techniques were employed to standardise the microbial inoculum, then two different toxicity assessment protocols have been compared: Microtox and a dehydrogenase (DHase) activity inhibition test. The main goal was the optimisation of a microbial bioassay based on the dehydrogenase activity (DHase) inhibition in Pseudomonas fluorescens bacterial strain ATCC 13525. Triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) was used as electron acceptor and its reduction produces Triphenyl formazane (TPF). The P. fluorescens DHase inhibition bioassay was investigated for being a reliable and rapid method for assessing toxicity. The optimisation of the operating conditions resulted in a repeatable bioassay. Then, P. fluorescens and Vibrio fischeri sensitivity were firstly compared by testing Zn++, one of the reference compounds for Microtox test. In addition, other compounds (Ni++, Cd++, Cu++, phenol) were also tested with both bioassays. A high statistical significance of data was obtained with the logistic curve. The present work has demonstrated that P. fluorescens is as sensitive as Microtox culture (V. fischeri), for some of the metal ions. With reference to organic compounds, the lower sensitivity of P. fluorescens to phenol makes its use difficult in organic polluted samples.

A new microbial assay for the toxicity detection of contaminated soils.

A comparative study to detect toxicity prior to bioremediation treatment was set in order to investigate dehydrogenase activity inhibition of a common soil bacterium caused by soil contaminated with Cu, Pb, and As. A spectrophotometric test with Pseudomonas fluorescens strain ATCC 13525 utilising the 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC) reduction by microbial dehydrogenase has been adapted for this purpose. Soil samples are incubated for 48 hours at 30 +/- 1 degrees C in 18-ml tubes in the presence of TTC as an artificial electron-acceptor. The reduced TTC forms a reddish colour substance named triphenyl formazan (TPF), which can be extracted from the microbial cells and measured colorimetrically. The rapid response of biological activity in microorganisms and the reported sensitivity to the toxicants in the contaminated samples are reflected by the TTC reduction method, which is a sensitive tool for toxicity screening of contaminated sites, routine monitoring of bioremediation processes, as well as for feasibility studies of bioremediation treatments, in order to assess whether a specific pollutant or any other substance at a site location could inhibit the microbiological processes.

Carbon and nitrogen distribution in the sediments of lagoon of Ravenna (Italy).

The distribution and the origin of carbon and nitrogen in sediments of an Italian lagoon--located north-east of Ravenna town--were investigated. From 1957 to 1976, the lagoon had been affected by a strong industrial pollution due to an important petrochemical complex. At present, industrial and domestic waste waters undergo a treatment process before being discharged into the lagoon. Sediment samples from 10 locations throughout the lagoon were analysed, in order to document the spatial and vertical distribution of C and N. Data show a very strong variability (organic carbon content varies between 8.9% and 0.14%) and the highest values were found in the immediate vicinity of the industrial discharge. Sediment organic matter shows allochthonous origin in proximity of industrial discharge and autochthonous origin in the remaining areas.