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Caring for older and for adults with disabilities is nowadays a social challenge for Western societies. However, little research has focused on the role of women as carers of that social group and their personal and professional consequences, particularly in academia. We explore the impact of caring for the older and adults with disabilities on Spanish scholar from a gender perspective. We conducted 36 semi-structured open-ended interviews (24 women, 12 men). Our research finds that, caring for the older and adults with disabilities has costs and implications for scholar on a personal and professional levels, but significantly more for women compared to men. Women often reported more physical and mental health problems than men. In addition, women, reported that their profession was affected by caring for the older people and that they compromised their quality of life mainly in terms of loss of leisure time. Strategies for coping during difficult periods of caregiving differed between genders, whereby women reported reaching out to support networks. At the institutional level, older care is an ‘invisible’ problem, for which interviewees reported not getting any support from their institutions. The study reveals how caring for older people and adults with disabilities adds yet another role and responsibility to women’s dual role as mothers and scholars, leading to “invisible”, often unnamed, impacts on their personal and professional lives: the “triple presence”. Given that the study was conducted in a specific context (Spanish scientists in the fields of environmental science and sustainability), future studies in other geographical areas will be needed to corroborate current findins.

The gender gap in STEM is a persistent global issue. Scientific societies can address this by promoting gender equity through collaboration, advocacy, and leadership. This study analyses gender representation on executive boards and the presence of gender groups in freshwater societies. Drawing on a decade of experience, it proposes ten actionable steps, highlights obstacles, and calls on societies to actively foster gender equity within academia and beyond.

Global change exposes ecosystems to a myriad of stressors differing in their spatial (i.e. surface of stressed area) and temporal (i.e. exposure time) components. Among freshwater ecosystems, rivers and streams are subject to physical, chemical and biological stressors, which interact with each other and might produce diverging effects depending on exposure time. We conducted a manipulative experiment using 24 artificial streams to examine the individual and combined effects of warming (1.6 °C increase in water temperature), hydrological stress (simulated low-flow situation) and chemical stress caused by pesticide exposure (15.1–156.7 ng L −1 ) on river biofilms. We examined whether co-occurring stressors could lead to non-additive effects, and if these differed at two different exposure times. Specifically, structural and functional biofilm responses were assessed after 48 hours (short-term effects) and after 30 days (long-term effects) of exposure. Hydrological stress caused strong negative impacts on river biofilms, whereas effects of warming and pesticide exposure were less intense, although increasing on the long term. Most stressor combinations (71%) resulted in non-significant interactions, suggesting overall additive effects, but some non-additive interactions also occurred. Among non-additive interactions, 59% were classified as antagonisms after short-term exposure to the different stressor combinations, rising to 86% at long term. Our results indicate that a 30-day exposure period to multiple stressors increases the frequency of antagonistic interactions compared to a 48-hour exposure to the same conditions. Overall, the impacts of multiple-stressor occurrences appear to be hardly predictable from individual effects, highlighting the need to consider temporal components such as duration when predicting the effects of multiple stressors.

The sensitivity and spatial recovery of river sediment biofilms along 1 km after the input of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in two river reaches with different degrees of anthropogenic influence were investigated. First, at the upper reach, we observed an inhibition of some microbial functions (microbial respiration and extracellular enzyme activities) and strong shifts in bacterial community composition (16S rRNA gene), whereas an increase in microbial biomass and activity and less pronounced effect on microbial diversity and community composition were seen at the lower reach. Second, at the lower reach we observed a quick spatial recovery (around 200 m downstream of the effluent) as most of the functions and community composition were similar to those from reference sites. On the other hand, bacterial community composition and water quality at the upper reach was still altered 1 km from the WWTP effluent. Our results indicate that biofilms in the upstream sites were more sensitive to the effect of WWTPs due to a lower degree of tolerance after a disturbance than communities located in more anthropogenically impacted sites.

Temporary streams are submitted to high seasonal hydrological variations which induce habitat fragmentation. Global change promotes longer non-flow periods, affecting hydrological continuity and the distribution of biological assemblages in river networks. We aimed to investigate the effects of hydrological discontinuity on phototrophic biofilm assemblages in a Mediterranean stream, at both network and habitat scales. At the network scale during basal flow conditions, mostly nitrate and DOC concentrations were associated to the taxonomical and trait distribution of algae and cyanobacterial assemblages. Cyanobacteria dominated at the upstream and downstream sites of the network, while green algae and diatoms were abundant in its middle part. At the habitat scale, hydrological discontinuity promoted large changes in biofilm composition between riffles and pools, where pools were inhabited preferentially by green algae and riffle habitats by cyanobacteria. Our findings emphasize the myriad of factors affecting the spatial distribution of phototrophic biofilms, which become more heterogeneous according to water flow interruption. Under the predicted climate change scenarios, spatial heterogeneity in temporary streams may increase, which will lead to change phototrophic biofilm assemblages.

ABSTRACT The sensitivity and spatial recovery of river sediment biofilms along 1 km after the input of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in two river reaches with different degrees of anthropogenic influence were investigated. First, at the upper reach, we observed an inhibition of some microbial functions (microbial respiration and extracellular enzyme activities) and strong shifts in bacterial community composition (16S rRNA gene), whereas an increase in microbial biomass and activity and less pronounced effect on microbial diversity and community composition were seen at the lower reach. Second, at the lower reach we observed a quick spatial recovery (around 200 m downstream of the effluent) as most of the functions and community composition were similar to those from reference sites. On the other hand, bacterial community composition and water quality at the upper reach was still altered 1 km from the WWTP effluent. Our results indicate that biofilms in the upstream sites were more sensitive to the effect of WWTPs due to a lower degree of tolerance after a disturbance than communities located in more anthropogenically impacted sites. River biofilms from upper reaches were more sensitive to the impact of WWTP effluents than lower river sites, mostly explained by their previous degree of exposure to anthropogenic stressors.

In the Arctic, climate changes contribute to enhanced mobilization of organic matter in streams. Microbial extracellular enzymes are important mediators of stream organic matter processing, but limited information is available on enzyme processes in this remote area. Here, we studied the variability of microbial extracellular enzyme activity in high-Arctic fluvial biofilms. We evaluated 12 stream reaches in Northeast Greenland draining areas exhibiting different geomorphological features with contrasting contents of soil organic matter to cover a wide range of environmental conditions. We determined stream nitrogen, phosphorus, and dissolved organic carbon concentrations, quantified algal biomass and bacterial density, and characterized the extracellular enzyme activities involved in catalyzing the cleavage of a range of organic matter compounds (e.g., β-glucosidase, phosphatase, β-xylosidase, cellobiohydrolase, and phenol oxidase). We found significant differences in microbial organic matter utilization among the study streams draining contrasting geomorphological features, indicating a strong coupling between terrestrial and stream ecosystems. Phosphatase and phenol oxidase activities were higher in solifluction areas than in alluvial areas. Besides dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen availability was the main driver controlling enzyme activities in the high-Arctic, which suggests enhanced organic matter mineralization at increased nutrient availability. Overall, our study provides novel information on the controls of organic matter usage by high-Arctic stream biofilms, which is of high relevance due to the predicted increase of nutrient availability in high-Arctic streams in global climate change scenarios.

Bacterial communities in river sediments are shaped by a trade-off between dispersal from upstream or nearby land and selection by the local environmental conditions. In temporary rivers (i.e. those characterized by long drying periods and subsequent rewetting) seasonal hydrological dynamics shape bacterial communities by connecting or disconnecting different river habitats. In this study, we tracked and compared the temporal and spatial changes in the composition of bacterial communities in streambed sediments and floodplain habitats across both permanent and intermittent river segments. Our findings revealed that environmental selection played a key role in assembling bacterial communities in both segments. We argue that distinct environmental features act as filters at the local scale, favoring specific bacterial taxa in isolated pools and promoting some typically terrestrial taxa in dry areas. Considering the prospective extension of drying intervals due to climate change, our results suggest an emerging trend wherein bacterial assemblages in temporary streams progressively incorporate microorganisms of terrestrial origin, well-adapted to tolerate desiccation phases. This phenomenon may constitute an integral facet of the broader adaptive dynamics of temporary river ecosystems in response to the impacts of climate change.

River sediment physical properties are linked to flow and are important for the attachment of microorganisms. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between physical characteristics of surface sediments in a Mediterranean river and their organic matter content and microbial biomass. To do this, we analyzed particle-size distribution, organic matter content, chlorophyll-a, and bacterial density in sediments collected along a 54 km reach under three flow conditions (i.e., drought, low-flow, and base-flow). Multiple regression analysis revealed that during the drought condition, sediment heterogeneity and porosity regulated bacterial density and organic matter content and that bacterial density tended to be lower as the proportion of mud increased. However, under the low-flow and base-flow conditions, bacterial density was related to percent mud, which may provide more surface area for colonization than cobbles. Algal biomass was affected by sediment particle-size distribution only under the base-flow condition, when chlorophyll-a content was enhanced by sediment heterogeneity and a higher relative abundance of sand, suggesting that when biomass declines due to increased shear stress, sediment particle-size distribution becomes more determinant for algal colonization. Our results highlight the importance of considering the interplay of sediment particle-size distribution and flow regime when studying microbial communities in river sediments.

•In ethylene glycol (EG) poisoning, analysis of glycolic acid (GA) is advisable.•Serum GA levels (cut-off: 990.5mg/L) predict mortality risk.•GA analysis is especially useful to identify late presentations.•In our case, urine GA allowed us to confirm the diagnosis. To evaluate the clinical utility of glycolic acid (GA) determination in the diagnosis and prognosis of ethylene glycol (EG) intoxications. Systematic review of serum and/or urine GA concentrations available in the literature in cases of EG poisoning. Present a clinical case in which the determination of the GA was decisive. In total, 137 patients were included. Serum GA concentrations (but not EG) of patients who survive are different from those who die. The optimal cut-off of serum GA to predict mortality was 990.5mg/L (sensitivity 85.2%, specificity 54.3%) with an Odds Ratio of 6.838 (2.868–16.302). In our clinical case, serum EG was negative; however, urine GA was positive (1230.7mg/L). In all suspected cases of EG poisoning, it is advisable to carry out the simultaneous analysis of EG and GA.