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The need for reducing irrigation water demand and non-point source pollution all across Europe has made sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], due to its lower water and nutrient requirements, an interesting alternative to other traditional summer crops in European Mediterranean regions. HYDRUS-2D was used to model the fate of nitrogen in a plot planted with sweet sorghum grown under Mediterranean conditions between 2007 and 2010, while considering drip irrigation scenarios with different levels of nitrogen and salty waters. HYDRUS-2D simulated water contents, ECsw, and N一NH4+ and N一NO3− concentrations continuously for the entire duration of the field experiment, while producing RMSE between simulated and measured data of 0.030 cm3 cm−3, 1.764 dS m−1, 0.042 mmolc L−1, and 3.078 mmolc L−1, respectively. Estimates for sweet sorghum water requirements varied between 360 and 457 mm depending upon the crop season and the irrigation treatment. Sweet sorghum proved to be tolerant to saline waters if applied only during one crop season. However, the continuous use of saline waters for more than one crop season led to soil salinization, and to root water uptake reductions due to the increasing salinity stress. The relation found between N一NO3− uptake and dry biomass yield (R2 = 0.71) showed that nitrogen needs were smaller than the uptakes estimated for the scenario with the highest levels of nitrogen application. The movement of N out of the root zone was dependent on the amount of water flowing through the root zone, the amount of N applied, the form of N in the fertilizer, and the timing and number of fertigation events. The simulations with HYDRUS-2D were useful to understand the best strategies toward increasing nutrient uptake and reducing nutrient leaching. In this sense, N一NO3− uptakes were higher when fertigation events were more numerous and the amounts applied per event smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The CALIOPE-EU high-resolution air quality modeling system, namely WRF-ARW/HERMES-EMEP/CMAQ/BSC-DREAM8b, is developed and applied to Europe (12 km × 12 km, 1 h). The model performances are tested in terms of air quality levels and dynamics reproducibility on a yearly basis. The present work describes a quantitative evaluation of gas phase species (O3, NO2 and SO2) and particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) against ground-based measurements from the EMEP (European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme) network for the year 2004. The evaluation is based on statistics. Simulated O3 achieves satisfactory performances for both daily mean and daily maximum concentrations, especially in summer, with annual mean correlations of 0.66 and 0.69, respectively. Mean normalized errors are comprised within the recommendations proposed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US-EPA). The general trends and daily variations of primary pollutants (NO2 and SO2) are satisfactory. Daily mean concentrations of NO2 correlate well with observations (annual correlation r = 0.67) but tend to be underestimated. For SO2, mean concentrations are well simulated (mean bias = 0.5 μg m−3) with relatively high annual mean correlation (r = 0.60), although peaks are generally overestimated. The dynamics of PM2.5 and PM10 is well reproduced (0.49 < r < 0.62), but mean concentrations remain systematically underestimated. Deficiencies in particulate matter source characterization are discussed. Also, the spatially distributed statistics and the general patterns for each pollutant over Europe are examined. The model performances are compared with other European studies. While O3 statistics generally remain lower than those obtained by the other considered studies, statistics for NO2, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10 present higher scores than most models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To generate country-specific data on age of sexual debut in young adults in 7 European countries with regard to the optimal age for prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination., Methods: Survey of self-reported sexual debut and behavior in a sample of young adults aged 18-24 years in 7 European countries (Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, France). Subjects (minimum of 500 males and 500 females per country) were recruited at public places using an in-street collecting approach in all countries except France, where the survey was conducted at home. Data were collected using a short, anonymous, self-administered questionnaire designed to gather information about any kind of sexual activity the subject might have engaged in with a partner, with standardized content to enable comparison between countries., Results: Up to 14% of young men and 22% of young women aged 18-24 years had yet to experience sexual activity at the time of the survey. Median age of sexual debut calculated by survival analysis ranged between 16 and 17 years in boys and between 17 and 18 years in girls. The proportion of boys sexually active before the age of 15 years ranged from 5.0% (Poland) to 15.8% (Italy). The proportion of girls sexually active before the age of 15 years was lower compared with boys in all countries, ranging from 2.6% (Poland) to 11.9% (the Netherlands). The first sexual partner for girls was typically at least 1 year older, irrespective of the age of sexual debut. Almost one-third of young women did not use a condom at sexual debut., Conclusions: This survey provides an update on sexual debut and behavior in young adults in some European countries. Estimated age at sexual debut ranged between 16 and 18 years and appeared to be later in girls than in boys. The proportion of girls sexually active before the age of 15 years was low (

The human platelet antigen (HPA) systems are related to immune platelet disorders as well as to the development of occlusive vascular disease. Several distinct biallelic HPA systems are known, and a heterogeneous distribution of HPA alleles has been described among distinct ethnic groups. In this study we genotyped 320 carefully selected individuals from three distinct ethnic groups in Brazil (Caucasians, Blacks and Amazonian Indians) for the HPA-1, -2, -3, -4 and -5 systems. A similar prevalence for all HPA alleles was found in Brazilians of Caucasian and Black descent. These data contrast with those reported for similar ethnic groups in other countries. Among the Amazonian Indians, no b allele of the HPA-1, -4 and -5 systems was identified. The data presented here could be useful in the diagnosis of alloimmune platelet disease, in genetic counselling and in the development of screening programmes for HPA-related diseases.