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This research highlights housing as one of the dimensions of the lives of individuals who experience severe psychological suffering, which reverberates in their care and unique therapeutic plan. This paper aims to grasp the Psychosocial Care Centers (CAPS) users' meanings of their experiences of living in Santos (SP), Brazil. This qualitative research was conducted with users of different services through semi-structured interviews submitted to the thematic content analysis. This study identified how the conception of housing relates to protection, individuality, and affective memories that corroborate the construction of an expanded concrete life regarding living in freedom in the city, presenting plural housing located in different territories. Taking ownership of spaces reveals the possibilities and challenges inherent to social exchanges and daily experiences. Being and living in a house means having access to material and subjective goods, besides assuring care in freedom. However, there are still limitations in the effective exercise of social participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gravity inversion is a highly effective method for investigating regional geological structures, and this paper proposes an optimization scheme for constrained three-dimensional (3D) gravity inversion to obtain a 3D density model, utilizing prior geological and geophysics information. Specifically, the proposed method enhances deep structural imaging resolution and minimizes false structures by progressively inverting deep and shallow-density structures using long and short-wavelength signals of gravity anomaly with prior information. The scheme is applied in the southeast passive continental margin of Brazil, and the results show that the density model is consistent with the previous reflection and refraction seismic data. Moreover, the 3D density model reveals several insights: (i) The Abimael Ridge (AR) and the São Paulo Plateau (SPP) exhibit thin crustal thickness (∼5–7 km) indicative of proto-oceanic crust. The SPP and AR area crustal thinning may be related to an aborted opposing rift propagator pair. (ii) The rifting modes of Santos and Campos Basins differ significantly. Campos Basin exhibits a depth-dependent lithospheric stretching model with a relatively intact upper crust. In contrast, Santos Basin shows a highly brittle upper crust that is partially thinned and, in some regions, even absent under the far-field effect of spreading failed rifts, while the lower crust remains relatively intact. Moreover, the upper crustal stretching factor is about five to ten higher than the lower crustal. Thus, the constrained 3D gravity inversion scheme provides a new avenue for continental rifted margin geological structure studies. • An improved step-by-step constrained density gravity inversion scheme is proposed with priori information. • The Abimael Ridge and São Paulo Plateau are postulated to be proto-oceanic crust due to aborted oceanic ridge rifting. • The Santos Basin and Campos Basin exhibit distinctly different patterns of crustal thinning from the density model and its derived parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of multi-family residential buildings to provide affordable housing solutions has led to the need to find ways to manage the common areas and other communal facilities in these collective housing developments. Residents who are accustomed to single-family housing often find it difficult to adapt to a more communal way of life. This article describes a case study aimed at evaluating the condominium management and its satisfaction components in a multi-family housing complex built in the Baixada Santista Metropolitan Region in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, to accommodate families relocated from favelas. The study involved applying questionnaires to residents and condominium managers (síndicos), and conducting a series of interviews with community leaders and professionals from public agencies and the condominium management sector, as well as field visits. Multivariate analysis and measurement uncertainty were used to assess the relationship between variables. The study confirmed that the question of buildings maintenance plays a major role in condominium issues since, as well as putting whole complexes and residents at risk, maintenance involves engineering and administrative aspects likely to generate future costs if not appropriately carried out. Although the case study focuses on a project acclaimed by government agencies and some experts as a good example of affordable social housing, we found that the development has drawbacks similar to those found in the literature, such as interpersonal relationship difficulties, problems of cultural and financial adaptation to the condominium model, maintainability issues, and the occurrence of construction defects, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Brasileira de Oftalmologia is the property of Sociedade Brasileira de Oftalmologia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Plastic pellets are granules of different polymers used in the manufacture of various plastic products. Plastic pellets can reach the environment due to losses after their manufacturing process, especially the transportation. Loading in harbour areas and transport by ships are the main sources of plastic pellets to the ocean and coastal areas. After pellets reach the environment, they may adsorb and concentrate chemicals contaminants from different sources. Moreover, the weathering of plastic pellets may result in color changes, from white to brownish. This study aimed to analyse the color pattern of pellets collected on beaches of the central coast of São Paulo, Brazil, as an indicator of weathering and ageing processes. Plastic pellets were collected in four sampling surveys conducted between April 2012 and September 2015, and then separated in five color groups: white, yellowish, orange, brown, and pigmented. All sampled beaches had a consistent pattern of light-toned pellets (white and yellowish). This pattern was also found over time, suggesting a constant supply of plastic pellets to the beaches, coming from the harbour area. We also recommend the use of the color pattern of plastic pellets in citizen science monitoring programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) can be used to remove metals from wastewater, sewage, and contaminated areas. However, metals can be toxic to this group of bacteria. Sediments from port areas present abundance of SRB and also metal contamination. Their microbial community has been exposed to metals and can be a good inoculum for isolation of metal-resistant SRB. The objective of the study was to analyze how metals influence activity and composition of sulfate-reducing bacteria. Enrichment cultures were prepared with a different metal (Zn, Cr, Cu, and Cd) range concentration tracking activity of SRB and 16S rRNA sequencing in order to access the community. The SRB activity decreased when there was an increase in the concentration of the metals tested. The highest concentration of metals precipitated were 0.2 mM of Cd, 5.4 mM of Zn, 4.5 mM of Cu, and 9.6 mM of Cr. The more toxic metals were Cd and Cu and had a greater community similarity with less SRB and more fermenters (e.g., Citrobacter and Clostridium). Meanwhile, the enrichments with less toxic metals (Cr and Zn) had more sequences affiliated to SRB genera (mainly Desulfovibrio). A new Desulfovibrio species was isolated. This type of study can be useful to understand the effects of metals in SRB communities and help to optimize wastewater treatment processes contaminated by metals. The new Desulfovibrio species may be important in future studies on bioremediation of neutral pH effluents contaminated by metals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO2 enrichment in the marine environment caused by leakages from carbon capture and storage technologies may occur over operational procedures. An integrated approach using weight-of-evidence was applied to assess the environmental risk associated with the acidification caused by CO2 enrichment in coastal sediments from Santos (Brazil). Chemical analyses (metal(loid)s and organic contaminant (e.g., hydrocarbons), toxicity tests (amphipods mortality, sea-urchin embryo-larval development) and macro-benthic community structure alteration assessment were performed with different acidified scenarios (pH 8.0–6.0) for two stations with different contamination degrees. These lines of evidence were statistically analyzed and integrated (multivariate analysis and ANOVA). Results of toxicity showed significant chronic effects starting at pH 7.0 while acute effects were observed starting at pH 6.5. The macro-benthic community integrity showed significant differences for all treatments at the Piaçaguera channel station, considered to be moderately contaminated. Results from the multivariate analysis correlated toxic effects and increase in the mobility of some elements with acidification. Also, the biological indexes were correlated with concentrations of dissolved Zn in seawater. The pH of 6.0 was extremely toxic for marine life due to its high acidification and metal bioavailability. The approach herein identified and discriminated the origin of the degradation caused by the acidification related to the enrichment of CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Pensamiento Americano is the property of Corporacion Universitaria Americana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article compares slave-trading networks in the 1860s and 1870s in Santos and Mogi das Cruzes, two largely dissimilar townships in the south-eastern province of São Paulo, Brazil. These local markets had different structural patterns, even though buyers in both places depended on personal connections to procure single or very small lots of slaves. Santos had a more defined network of slave traders, while buyers and sellers in Mogi das Cruzes relied more on family connections. These findings are linked with studies on the internal market in Brazil and other parts of the Americas to show that local slave trading was more important than has been assumed, yet requires greater study to understand fully. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The use of aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs) have been related to environmental contamination due to handling, storage, and use in the firefighting against class B fire. Studies have associated the use of AFFFs with toxic effects from its perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) to the aquatic ecosystem, which led the Stockholm Convention to restrict their use. In Brazil, despite the large-scale use, there is no data on employment or annual commercialization of these products. This study evaluated the toxicity of seven brands of AFFFs used in the firefighting of the petrochemical's terminal of fuel storage in Port of Santos (Santos, São Paulo, Brazil) which occurred in 2015, in which more than 61,000 L of AFFFs drained into the adjacent aquatic ecosystems. The toxicity evaluation was performed by means of the acute bioassay using the freshwater microcrustacean Daphnia similis. The AFFF brands tested were considered toxic to D. similis, including at much lower dilutions than those recommended by the manufacturers. The brand that showed the lowest toxicity was Kidde Sintex® 3% × 6%, followed by Kidde Sintex® 1% × 3%, Argus Prime®, Cold Fire®, Ageofoam®, and Liovac®, and the one with the highest toxicity was F-500 fire®. These results provide valuable information for the development of public policies aimed at managing the AFFF discharge in freshwater ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sartor, S.M., Hans, M.F.P., Palm, L., Sartor, L.M., Leão, A.L., 2007. Coastal Marine Mapping as an Ecosystem Based Management – the case study of the Baixada Santista Region – São Paulo, Brazil. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 50 (Proceedings of the 9th International Coastal Symposium), 1178 – 1182. Gold Coast, Australia, ISSN 0749.0208 Despite the enormous environmental impact occurring in the study area and the relevant scientific studies ongoing, the decision-making processes of management and enforcement activities are still restricted. It happens mainly due to the inexistence of data integration of the available information. The development of integrating maps that summarize the information on geomorphology, biological processes, ecology, biodiversity, sociology and economic data, is therefore strategic. So with this purpose, a multidisciplinary team developed a data bank gathering the previously existing information with documented visits to all the area under study. These included interviews about socio-economic uses, biological occurrences and pollution impacts. The study demonstrated that spite of being important fishes´, birds´ and invertebrates´ matting areas; there are important ecosystems like mangroves and estuaries that suffer many deleterious impacts. The study also determined the number of species present in the area: 216 marine fish species, 77 estuarine fish-, 454 bird-, 174 terrestrial mammal- and 22 marine mammal species. Beaches, rock shores and mangrove areas were also fully mapped. On the long run this study will help to define new areas to be protected and to establish a better policy management. Another aim of this study is to shorten time to analyse and understand the ecosystem, allowing the promotion of new studies in observed gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]